Effects of tooth scaling reminders for dental outpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Chi-Chia J; Li, Chung-Yi; Hu, Yih-Jin; Shen, Hsi-Che; Huang, Shay-Min

2013-06-01

We investigated the effect of sending reminders for patients to attend appointments for tooth scaling. A total of 389 outpatients were assigned to three intervention groups (reminders sent by postcard, mobile-phone text message or telephone call) and one control group. Reminders accompanied by short health education messages were sent to patients in each of the intervention groups. The outpatient revisiting behaviour of the patients was monitored. Patients who were reminded to come in for tooth scaling were 2.6 (95% CI 1.3-5.4) to 2.9 (CI 1.1-7.8) times more likely to revisit compared to those who were not reminded. For every one point increase in the patient satisfaction score, patients were 3.8 (CI 1.2-11.6) times more likely to revisit. Patients with a high level of patient satisfaction and who had also received a reminder had the highest return rates (26%). Most patients (89-96%) had good feelings regarding the reminders; 65% of the patients agreed that reminders had enhanced their intention to revisit; 91% of patients hoped to continue to receive reminders concerning broader dental health information. A reminder combined with health education is an effective way of improving preventative dental visiting behaviour.

Cu-Sn Bimetallic Catalyst for Selective Aqueous Electroreduction of CO2 to CO

KAUST Repository

Sarfraz, Saad

2016-03-23

We report a selective and stable electrocatalyst utilizing non-noble metals consisting of Cu and Sn for the efficient and selective reduction of CO2 to CO over a wide potential range. The bimetallic electrode was prepared through the electrodeposition of Sn species on the surface of oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu). The Cu surface, when decorated with an optimal amount of Sn, resulted in a Faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO greater than 90% and a current density of −1.0 mA cm−2 at −0.6 V vs. RHE, compared to the CO FE of 63% and −2.1 mA cm−2 for OD-Cu. Excess Sn on the surface caused H2 evolution with a decreased current density. X-ray diffraction (XRD) suggests the formation of Cu-Sn alloy. Auger electron spectroscopy of the sample surface exhibits zero-valent Cu and Sn after the electrodeposition step. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that replacing a single Cu atom with a Sn atom leaves the d-band orbitals mostly unperturbed, signifying no dramatic shifts in the bulk electronic structure. However, the Sn atom discomposes the multi-fold sites on pure Cu, disfavoring the adsorption of H and leaving the adsorption of CO relatively unperturbed. Our catalytic results along with DFT calculations indicate that the presence of Sn on reduced OD-Cu diminishes the hydrogenation capability—i.e., the selectivity towards H2 and HCOOH—while hardly affecting the CO productivity. While the pristine monometallic surfaces (both Cu and Sn) fail to selectively reduce CO2, the Cu-Sn bimetallic electrocatalyst generates a surface that inhibits adsorbed H*, resulting in improved CO FE. This study presents a strategy to provide a low-cost non-noble metals that can be utilized as a highly selective electrocatalyst for the efficient aqueous reduction of CO2.

An Amidochlorin-Based Colorimetric Fluorescent Probe for Selective Cu2+ Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenting Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The design and synthesis of selective and sensitive chemosensors for the quantification of environmentally and biologically important ionic species has attracted widespread attention. Amidochlorin p6 (ACP; an effective colorimetric and fluorescent probe for copper ions (Cu2+ in aqueous solution derived from methyl pheophorbide-a (MPa was designed and synthesized. A remarkable color change from pale yellow to blue was easily observed by the naked eye upon addition of Cu2+; and a fluorescence quenching was also determined. The research of fluorescent quenching of ACP-Cu2+ complexation showed the detection limit was 7.5 × 10−8 mol/L; which suggested that ACP can act as a high sensitive probe for Cu2+ and can be used to quantitatively detect low levels of Cu2+ in aqueous solution. In aqueous solution the probe exhibits excellent selectivity and sensitivity toward Cu2+ ions over other metal ions (M = Zn2+; Ni2+; Ba2+; Ag+; Co2+; Na+; K+; Mg2+; Cd2+; Pb2+; Mn2+; Fe3+; and Ca2+. The obvious change from pale yellow to blue upon the addition of Cu2+ could make it a suitable “naked eye” indicator for Cu2+.

Getting patients in the door: medical appointment reminder preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Crutchfield, Trisha M; Kistler, Christine E

2017-01-01

Between 23% and 34% of outpatient appointments are missed annually. Patients who frequently miss medical appointments have poorer health outcomes and are less likely to use preventive health care services. Missed appointments result in unnecessary costs and organizational inefficiencies. Appointment reminders may help reduce missed appointments; particular types may be more effective than other types. We used a survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to learn why individuals miss appointments and to assess appointment reminder preferences. We enrolled a national sample of adults from an online survey panel to complete demographic and appointment habit questions as well as a 16-task DCE designed in Sawtooth Software's Discover tool. We assessed preferences for four reminder attributes - initial reminder type, arrival of initial reminder, reminder content, and number of reminders. We derived utilities and importance scores. We surveyed 251 adults nationally, with a mean age of 43 (range 18-83) years: 51% female, 84% White, and 8% African American. Twenty-three percent of individuals missed one or more appointments in the past 12 months. Two primary reasons given for missing an appointment include transportation problems (28%) and forgetfulness (26%). Participants indicated the initial reminder type (21%) was the most important attribute, followed by the number of reminders (10%). Overall, individuals indicated a preference for a single reminder, arriving via email, phone call, or text message, delivered less than 2 weeks prior to an appointment. Preferences for reminder content were less clear. The number of missed appointments and reasons for missing appointments are consistent with prior research. Patient-centered appointment reminders may improve appointment attendance by addressing some of the reasons individuals report missing appointments and by meeting patients' needs. Future research is necessary to determine if preferred reminders used in practice

Orbital-selective Mott phase of Cu-substituted iron-based superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yang; Zhao, Yang-Yang; Song, Yun

2016-01-01

We study the phase transition in Cu-substituted iron-based superconductors with a new developed real-space Green’s function method. We find that Cu substitution has strong effect on the orbital-selective Mott transition introduced by the Hund’s rule coupling. The redistribution of the orbital occupancy which is caused by the increase of the Hund’s rule coupling, gives rise to the Mott–Hubbard metal-insulator transition in the half-filled d xy orbital. We also find that more and more electronic states appear inside that Mott gap of the d xy orbital with the increase of Cu substitution, and the in-gap states around the Fermi level are strongly localized at some specific lattice sites. Further, a distinctive phase diagram, obtained for the Cu-substituted Fe-based superconductors, displays an orbital-selective insulating phase, as a result of the cooperative effect of the Hund’s rule coupling and the impurity-induced disorder. (paper)

Preparation and characterization of CuO nanostructures on copper substrate as selective solar absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karthick Kumar, S.; Murugesan, S.; Suresh, S.

2014-01-01

Selective solar absorber coatings of copper oxide (CuO) on copper substrates are prepared by room temperature oxidation of copper at different alkaline conditions. The surface morphology and structural analyses of the CuO coatings are carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy techniques. XRD and Raman studies indicated the single phase nature and high crystallinity of the prepared CuO nanostructures. Different CuO nanostructures, viz., nanoneedles, nanofibers and nanoparticles are formed at different alkaline conditions. The influence of reaction time on morphology of the CuO nanostructures is also studied. The thermal emittance values of these nanostructured CuO samples are found to be in the range of 6–7% and their solar absorptances are ranged between 84 and 90%. The observed high solar selectivity values (>12.7) suggest that these coatings can be used as selective absorbers in solar thermal gadgets. - Highlights: • Nanostructured CuO thin films on Cu substrate have been prepared by a facile method. • Morphology of the CuO nanostructures varies with reaction pH. • The thin films show high absorptance in the visible region and low thermal emittance. • Multiple absorption in the porous structure leads to high solar absorptance. • Nanostructures posses solar selectivity values >12

21 CFR 200.200 - Prescription drugs; reminder advertisements and reminder labeling to provide price information to...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Prescription drugs; reminder advertisements and reminder labeling to provide price information to consumers. 200.200 Section 200.200 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL GENERAL Prescription Drug Consumer Price Listing §...

Photocatalytic properties and selective antimicrobial activity of TiO2(Eu)/CuO nanocomposite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michal, Robert; Dworniczek, Ewa; Caplovicova, Maria; Monfort, Olivier; Lianos, Panagiotis; Caplovic, Lubomir; Plesch, Gustav

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Nanocomposites composed of Eu-doped anatase grafted with CuO. • Increase in photocatalytic hydrogen production due to CuO acting as electrons sink. • CuO in composites decreasing the photoinduced total mineralization of phenol. • Selective photoinduced antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus species. - Abstract: TiO 2 (Eu)/CuO nanocomposites were prepared by precipitation method. The anatase nanocrystallites with a size of 26 nm exhibited well crystallized and characteristical dipyramidal morphology and {1 0 1} and {0 0 1} faceting. Transmission electron microscopy photographs with atomic resolution showed that the Eu(III) dopants were bounded on surface of titania. In the composites, the CuO nanocrystals exhibiting a monoclinic tenorite structure with a size in the range from 2 to 5 nm were grafted to the surface of titania. The influence of copper(II) oxide led to distinct selectivity in the photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties of the investigated TiO 2 (Eu)/CuO nanocomposites. While the presence of CuO nanocrystals strongly increased the photocatalytic production of hydrogen by ethanol reforming, it decreased the activity in photoinduced total mineralization of phenol comparing with non-modified TiO 2 (Eu). In investigated TiO 2 (Eu)/CuO powders, the photoinduced antimicrobial activity against membranes of Enterococcus species was influenced by the selective binding of CuO to the surface of the microorganism leading to distinct selectivity in their action. The activity against Enterococcus faecalis was higher than against Enterococcus faecium.

Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Car, Josip; Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat

2012-07-11

Missed appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery, with substantial monetary costs for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Patients' forgetfulness is one of the main reasons for missed appointments, and reminders may help alleviate this problem. Modes of communicating reminders for appointments to patients include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, and mobile phone messaging. Mobile phone messaging applications such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS) could provide an important, inexpensive delivery medium for reminders for healthcare appointments. To assess the effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Secondary objectives include assessment of patients' and healthcare providers' evaluation of the intervention; costs; and possible risks and harms associated with the intervention. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 2), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to June 2009), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to June 2009), LILACS (January 1993 to June 2009) and African Health Anthology (January 1993 to June 2009). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-randomised controlled trials (QRCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, or interrupted time series (ITS) studies with at least three time points before and after the intervention. We included studies assessing mobile phone messaging as reminders for healthcare appointments. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.   Two review authors independently assessed all

The effect of reminders in a web-based intervention study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensson, M.; Svensson, T.; Hansen, A. W.

2012-01-01

Knowledge on effective strategies to encourage participation in epidemiological web-based research is scant. We studied the effects of reminders on overall participation. 3,876 employees were e-mailed a baseline web-based lifestyle questionnaire. Nine months later, a follow-up questionnaire...... was sent. To encourage study participation, 4-5 and 11 e-mail reminders were sent at baseline and follow-up, respectively. Additional reminders (media articles, flyers, SMS etc) were also administered. Reminders (e-mails + additional) were given in low (a parts per thousand currency sign6 reminders......). About 29 % responded before any e-mail reminder, following 26 and 45 % after 1 respective a parts per thousand yen 2 e-mail reminders. Participant characteristics were not related to when the participants responded. The 4-5 e-mail reminders increased total response rate by 15 %, the eleven by 21...

Deposition of Size-Selected Cu Nanoparticles by Inert Gas Condensation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martínez E

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Nanometer size-selected Cu clusters in the size range of 1–5 nm have been produced by a plasma-gas-condensation-type cluster deposition apparatus, which combines a grow-discharge sputtering with an inert gas condensation technique. With this method, by controlling the experimental conditions, it was possible to produce nanoparticles with a strict control in size. The structure and size of Cu nanoparticles were determined by mass spectroscopy and confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM and scanning electron transmission microscopy (STEM measurements. In order to preserve the structural and morphological properties, the energy of cluster impact was controlled; the energy of acceleration of the nanoparticles was in near values at 0.1 ev/atom for being in soft landing regime. From SEM measurements developed in STEM-HAADF mode, we found that nanoparticles are near sized to those values fixed experimentally also confirmed by AFM observations. The results are relevant, since it demonstrates that proper optimization of operation conditions can lead to desired cluster sizes as well as desired cluster size distributions. It was also demonstrated the efficiency of the method to obtain size-selected Cu clusters films, as a random stacking of nanometer-size crystallites assembly. The deposition of size-selected metal clusters represents a novel method of preparing Cu nanostructures, with high potential in optical and catalytic applications.

Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurol-Urganci, Ipek; de Jongh, Thyra; Vodopivec-Jamsek, Vlasta; Atun, Rifat; Car, Josip

2013-12-05

This review is an update of the original Cochrane review published in July 2012. Missed appointments are a major cause of inefficiency in healthcare delivery with substantial monetary costs for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Patients' forgetfulness is one of the main reasons for missed appointments. Patient reminders may help reduce missed appointments. Modes of communicating reminders for appointments to patients include face-to-face communication, postal messages, calls to landlines or mobile phones, and mobile phone messaging. Mobile phone messaging applications, such as Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), could provide an important, inexpensive delivery medium for reminders for healthcare appointments. To update our review assessing the effects of mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Secondary objectives include assessment of costs; health outcomes; patients' and healthcare providers' evaluation of the intervention and perceptions of safety; and possible harms and adverse effects associated with the intervention. Original searches were run in June 2009. For this update, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL,The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 8), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012), EMBASE (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (January 1993 to August 2012) and CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (January 1993 to August 2012). We also reviewed grey literature (including trial registers) and reference lists of articles. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing mobile phone messaging as reminders for healthcare appointments. We only included studies in which it was possible to assess effects of mobile phone messaging independent of other technologies or interventions.   Two review authors independently assessed all studies against the inclusion criteria, with any disagreements resolved by a third

Predicting adolescent posttraumatic stress in the aftermath of war: differential effects of coping strategies across trauma reminder, loss reminder, and family conflict domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Kathryn H; Kaplow, Julie B; Layne, Christopher M; Benson, Molly A; Compas, Bruce E; Katalinski, Ranka; Pasalic, Hafiza; Bosankic, Nina; Pynoos, Robert

2015-01-01

The vast majority of youth who lived through the Bosnian war were exposed to multiple traumatic events, including interpersonal violence, community destruction, and the loss of a loved one. This study examined factors that predict post-war psychological adjustment, specifically posttraumatic stress, in Bosnian adolescents. Regression analyses evaluated theorized differential relations between three types of post-war stressors - exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and intrafamilial conflict - specific coping strategies, and posttraumatic stress symptom dimensions. We examined 555 Bosnian adolescents, aged 15-19 years, to predict their long-term posttraumatic stress reactions in the aftermath of war. Findings indicated that post-war exposure to trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict, as well as engagement and disengagement coping strategies, predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. Secondary control engagement coping responses to all three types of post-war stressors were inversely associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, whereas primary control engagement coping responses to family conflict were inversely associated with hyperarousal symptoms. Disengagement responses to trauma reminders and family conflict were positively associated with re-experiencing symptoms. These findings shed light on ways in which trauma reminders, loss reminders, and family conflict may intersect with coping responses to influence adolescent postwar adjustment.

Evaluation of smartphone oral contraceptive reminder applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Gal, Noga; Zite, Nikki B; Wallace, Lorraine S

2015-01-01

Oral contraceptives (OCs) are the most widely used contraceptive method among women of reproductive age in the United States (US). Routine download and use of health-related smartphone applications (apps) continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of English-language, smartphone-platform OC reminder apps currently available for download in the US. During June-July 2013, official Internet-based, mobile app platforms for the two major smartphone operating systems in the US-Android (Google Play Store) and iPhone (iTunes)-were searched. "Birth control," "the pill," and "contraception" were entered into the search-bar of each Smartphone store. Apps were assessed for the following: cost, health care professionals' involvement in app development, reminder mechanisms, and functionality. Of the 39 unique OC reminder apps meeting inclusion criteria, 7 (18%) did not operate as intended when downloaded. Most apps functioned without an Internet connection (97%) and included pop-up notifications (84%). Certain app features overcome common causes of missing an alarm, and hypothetically, may minimize likelihood of an OC user missing a daily pill. Health care providers should inform users of potential pitfalls and advise them that an OC reminder app should be not be used as a sole reminder method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide by ammonia over Cu-exchanged Cuban natural zeolites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreno-Tost, Ramon; Santamaria-Gonzalez, Jose; Rodriguez-Castellon, Enrique; Jimenez-Lopez, Antonio; Autie, Miguel A.; Glacial, Marisol Carreras; Gonzalez, Edel; Pozas, Carlos De las

2004-01-01

The catalytic selective reduction of NO over Cu-exchanged natural zeolites (mordenite (MP) and clinoptilolite (HC)) from Cuba using NH 3 as reducing agent and in the presence of excess oxygen was studied. Cu(II)-exchanged zeolites are very active catalysts, with conversions of NO of 95%, a high selectivity to N 2 at low temperatures, and exhibiting good water tolerance. The chemical state of the Cu(II) in exchanged zeolites was characterized by H 2 -TPR and XPS. Cu(II)-exchanged clinoptilolite underwent a severe deactivation in the presence of SO 2 . However, Cu(II)-exchanged mordenite not only maintained its catalytic activity, but even showed a slight improvement after 20h of reaction in the presence of 100ppm of SO 2

Photocatalytic properties and selective antimicrobial activity of TiO{sub 2}(Eu)/CuO nanocomposite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michal, Robert [Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia); Dworniczek, Ewa [Department of Microbiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 50368 Wroclaw (Poland); Caplovicova, Maria [STU Centre for Nanodiagnostics, Slovak University of Technology, 81243 Bratislava (Slovakia); Monfort, Olivier [Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia); Lianos, Panagiotis [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500 Patras (Greece); Caplovic, Lubomir [Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology, 91724 Trnava (Slovakia); Plesch, Gustav, E-mail: plesch@fns.uniba.sk [Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, 84215 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2016-05-15

Highlights: • Nanocomposites composed of Eu-doped anatase grafted with CuO. • Increase in photocatalytic hydrogen production due to CuO acting as electrons sink. • CuO in composites decreasing the photoinduced total mineralization of phenol. • Selective photoinduced antimicrobial activity against Enterococcus species. - Abstract: TiO{sub 2}(Eu)/CuO nanocomposites were prepared by precipitation method. The anatase nanocrystallites with a size of 26 nm exhibited well crystallized and characteristical dipyramidal morphology and {1 0 1} and {0 0 1} faceting. Transmission electron microscopy photographs with atomic resolution showed that the Eu(III) dopants were bounded on surface of titania. In the composites, the CuO nanocrystals exhibiting a monoclinic tenorite structure with a size in the range from 2 to 5 nm were grafted to the surface of titania. The influence of copper(II) oxide led to distinct selectivity in the photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties of the investigated TiO{sub 2}(Eu)/CuO nanocomposites. While the presence of CuO nanocrystals strongly increased the photocatalytic production of hydrogen by ethanol reforming, it decreased the activity in photoinduced total mineralization of phenol comparing with non-modified TiO{sub 2}(Eu). In investigated TiO{sub 2}(Eu)/CuO powders, the photoinduced antimicrobial activity against membranes of Enterococcus species was influenced by the selective binding of CuO to the surface of the microorganism leading to distinct selectivity in their action. The activity against Enterococcus faecalis was higher than against Enterococcus faecium.

Photocatalytic properties and selective antimicrobial activity of TiO2(Eu)/CuO nanocomposite

Science.gov (United States)

Michal, Robert; Dworniczek, Ewa; Caplovicova, Maria; Monfort, Olivier; Lianos, Panagiotis; Caplovic, Lubomir; Plesch, Gustav

2016-05-01

TiO2(Eu)/CuO nanocomposites were prepared by precipitation method. The anatase nanocrystallites with a size of 26 nm exhibited well crystallized and characteristical dipyramidal morphology and {1 0 1} and {0 0 1} faceting. Transmission electron microscopy photographs with atomic resolution showed that the Eu(III) dopants were bounded on surface of titania. In the composites, the CuO nanocrystals exhibiting a monoclinic tenorite structure with a size in the range from 2 to 5 nm were grafted to the surface of titania. The influence of copper(II) oxide led to distinct selectivity in the photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties of the investigated TiO2(Eu)/CuO nanocomposites. While the presence of CuO nanocrystals strongly increased the photocatalytic production of hydrogen by ethanol reforming, it decreased the activity in photoinduced total mineralization of phenol comparing with non-modified TiO2(Eu). In investigated TiO2(Eu)/CuO powders, the photoinduced antimicrobial activity against membranes of Enterococcus species was influenced by the selective binding of CuO to the surface of the microorganism leading to distinct selectivity in their action. The activity against Enterococcus faecalis was higher than against Enterococcus faecium.

Spectroscopic evidence for origins of size and support effects on selectivity of Cu nanoparticle dehydrogenation catalysts.

Science.gov (United States)

Witzke, M E; Dietrich, P J; Ibrahim, M Y S; Al-Bardan, K; Triezenberg, M D; Flaherty, D W

2017-01-03

Selective dehydrogenation catalysts that produce acetaldehyde from bio-derived ethanol can increase the efficiency of subsequent processes such as C-C coupling over metal oxides to produce 1-butanol or 1,3-butadiene or oxidation to acetic acid. Here, we use in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and steady state kinetics experiments to identify Cu δ+ at the perimeter of supported Cu clusters as the active site for esterification and Cu 0 surface sites as sites for dehydrogenation. Correlation of dehydrogenation and esterification selectivities to in situ measures of Cu oxidation states show that this relationship holds for Cu clusters over a wide-range of diameters (2-35 nm) and catalyst supports and reveals that dehydrogenation selectivities may be controlled by manipulating either.

Biomarker validation of a cued recall memory deficit in prodromal Alzheimer disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, M; Wolf, S; Reischies, F M; Daerr, M; Wolfsgruber, S; Jessen, F; Popp, J; Maier, W; Hüll, M; Frölich, L; Hampel, H; Perneczky, R; Peters, O; Jahn, H; Luckhaus, C; Gertz, H-J; Schröder, J; Pantel, J; Lewczuk, P; Kornhuber, J; Wiltfang, J

2012-02-07

To compare cued recall measures with other memory and nonmemory tests regarding their association with a biomarker profile indicative of Alzheimer disease (AD) in CSF among patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Data were obtained by the German Dementia Competence Network. A total of 185 memory clinic patients fulfilling broad criteria for MCI (1 SD deficit in memory tests or in nonmemory tests) were assessed with an extended neuropsychological battery, which included the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), the word list learning task from the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery (CERAD-NP), and the Logical Memory (LM) paragraph recall test from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. CSF was obtained from all patients. A total of 74 out of 185 subjects with MCI (40%) had a CSF profile consistent with AD (Aβ(1-42)/tau ratio; CSF AD+ group). FCSRT measures reflecting both free and cued recall discriminated best between CSF AD+ and CSF AD- patients, and significantly improved CSF AD classification accuracy, as compared with CERAD delayed recall and LM delayed recall. Cued recall deficits are most closely associated with CSF biomarkers indicative of AD in subjects with MCI. This novel finding complements results from prospective clinical studies and provides further empirical support for cued recall as a specific indicator of prodromal AD, in line with recently proposed research criteria.

Seat belt reminders.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2008-01-01

Seat belts are an effective way of reducing the number or road deaths and severe road injuries in crashes. Seat belt reminders warn car drivers and passengers if the seat belt is not fastened. This can be done by a visual signal or an acoustic signal or by a combination of the two. Seat belt

Used batteries - REMINDER

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

With colder weather drawing in, it is quite likely that older car batteries will fail. On this subject, the Safety Commission wishes to remind everyone that CERN is not responsible for the disposal of used batteries from private vehicles. So please refrain from abandoning them on pavements or around or inside buildings. Used batteries can be disposed of safely, free-of-charge and without any damage to the environment at waste disposal sites (déchetteries) close to CERN in both France (Ain and Haute-Savoie) and in the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland (Cheneviers). Since the average car battery lasts a number of years, this only represents a small effort on your part over the whole lifetime of your vehicle. Most people don't need reminding that car batteries contain concentrated sulphuric acid, which can cause severe burns. Despite this, we frequently find them casually dumped in scrap metal bins! For more information, please contact R. Magnier/SC-GS 160879 We all have a responsibility for safety and th...

Cu(1+) in HKUST-1: selective gas adsorption in the presence of water.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijem, Nour; Bluhm, Hendrik; Ng, May L; Kunz, Martin; Leone, Stephen R; Gilles, Mary K

2014-09-11

Spectroscopic evidence for an enhanced binding of Nitric Oxide (NO) to metal centers with lower oxidation states (open Cu(1+) sites) in Cu3(btc)2 (HKUST-1) is presented. The Cu(1+) sites created by thermal treatment or X-ray exposure exhibit a preferential adsorption of NO compared to H2O. This phenomenon demonstrates the potential use of MOFs with lower oxidation state metal centers for selective gas separation.

The impacts of email reminder/recall on adolescent influenza vaccination.

Science.gov (United States)

Dombkowski, Kevin J; Cowan, Anne E; Reeves, Sarah L; Foley, Matthew R; Dempsey, Amanda F

2017-05-25

We sought to: (1) explore the feasibility of using email for seasonal influenza vaccination reminders to parents of adolescents and (2) assess influenza vaccination rates among adolescents whose parents were randomized to either receive or not receive email reminders. Email addresses were obtained for parents of patients 10-18years from 4 practices in Michigan. Addresses were randomized to either receive email reminders, or not. Reminder messages were sent during October 2012-March 2013 (Season 1) and October 2013-March 2014 (Season 2). Vaccination status was determined 60days following the last email reminder for each season using the statewide Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR); per protocol bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate reminder notification. After email cleaning, testing, and matching with MCIR, approximately half of email addresses (2348 of 5312 in Season 1; 3457 of 6549 in Season 2) were randomized. Bivariate analyses found that influenza vaccination within 60days after notification date was similar among those notified (34%) versus not notified (29%) in both Season 1 (p=0.06) and Season 2 (39% vs. 37%, p=0.20). However, multivariate models adjusted for season, site, and receipt of notification in two seasons found a higher likelihood of influenza vaccination among children that received notification (aOR=1.28, 95% CI=1.09, 1.51); in addition, differences in influenza vaccination were also observed between practice sites (range: p=0.15 to pemail influenza vaccine reminders to parents of adolescents are feasible, but not without complications. Our study demonstrates that email reminders from practices can yield increases in influenza vaccination rates among adolescents. Practices should consider email as an option for influenza reminders and establish business practices for collecting and maintaining patient email addresses. This study is registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov id #NCT01732315. Copyright

Engineering Cu surfaces for the electrocatalytic conversion of CO2: Controlling selectivity toward oxygenates and hydrocarbons

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Christopher; Hatsukade, Toru; Kim, Youn-Geun; Vailionis, Arturas; Baricuatro, Jack H.; Higgins, Drew C.; Nitopi, Stephanie A.; Soriaga, Manuel P.; Jaramillo, Thomas F.

2017-01-01

In this study we control the surface structure of Cu thin-film catalysts to probe the relationship between active sites and catalytic activity for the electroreduction of CO2 to fuels and chemicals. Here, we report physical vapor deposition of Cu thin films on large-format (∼6 cm2) single-crystal substrates, and confirm epitaxial growth in the , , and orientations using X-ray pole figures. To understand the relationship between the bulk and surface structures, in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy was conducted on Cu(100), (111), and (751) thin films. The studies revealed that Cu(100) and (111) have surface adlattices that are identical to the bulk structure, and that Cu(751) has a heterogeneous kinked surface with (110) terraces that is closely related to the bulk structure. Electrochemical CO2 reduction testing showed that whereas both Cu(100) and (751) thin films are more active and selective for C–C coupling than Cu(111), Cu(751) is the most selective for >2e− oxygenate formation at low overpotentials. Our results demonstrate that epitaxy can be used to grow single-crystal analogous materials as large-format electrodes that provide insights on controlling electrocatalytic activity and selectivity for this reaction. PMID:28533377

Nigerian mothers opinion of reminder/recall for immunization

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROF. EZECHUKWU

2013-06-23

Jun 23, 2013 ... Abstract Introduction: Reminder/recall interventions have been shown to improve im- munization coverage. The percep- tion of mothers/caregivers may influence the outcome of such interventions. The attitude of. Nigerian mothers to reminders/ recalls using cell phones was evaluated. Methods: This was a ...

Accident: Reminder

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

There is no left turn to Point 1 from the customs, direction CERN. A terrible accident happened last week on the Route de Meyrin just outside Entrance B because traffic regulations were not respected. You are reminded that when travelling from the customs, direction CERN, turning left to Point 1 is forbidden. Access to Point 1 from the customs is only via entering CERN, going down to the roundabout and coming back up to the traffic lights at Entrance B

A longitudinal study of psychological distress and exposure to trauma reminders after terrorism.

Science.gov (United States)

Glad, Kristin A; Hafstad, Gertrud S; Jensen, Tine K; Dyb, Grete

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was threefold: (1) to examine the type and frequency of trauma reminders reported by survivors 2.5 years after a terrorist attack; (2) to examine whether frequency of exposure to trauma reminders is associated with psychological distress and level of functioning; and (3) to compare the worst trauma reminders reported by the same survivors at 2 different time points. Participants were 261 survivors (52.1% male; Mage = 22.1 years, SD = 4.76) of the 2011 massacre on Utøya Island, Norway, who were interviewed face-to-face 14-15 and 30-32 months postterror. Participants were asked how often they had experienced various trauma reminders in the past month, which reminder was the worst, and how distressing it was. Current posttraumatic reactions were measured using the University of California at Los Angeles PTSD Reaction Index and an 8-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Auditory reminders were most frequently encountered and the most distressing. Frequency of exposure to trauma reminders was positively correlated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, as well as negatively correlated with level of functioning, over time. Almost 20% of the survivors reported being very distressed by their worst reminder 2.5 years postterror. Less than half reported the same worst reminder at both time points. Trauma reminders, especially auditory reminders, are prevalent and distressing for years after a terrorist attack. Exposure to reminders may be important not only in the development and maintenance of PTSD but also in a broader conceptualization of posttraumatic reactions and functioning. Which reminder survivors appraise as the worst may fluctuate over time. It is important to help survivors identify and cope with reminders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Crystallisation kinetics of amorphous Fe72.5-xCu1Nb4.5Si10+x+yB12-y alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miglierini, M.; Lipka, J.; Sitek, J.

1994-01-01

Fe 73.5 Cu 1 Nb 3 Si 13.5 B 9 and Fe 72.5-x Cu 1 Nb 4.5 Si 10+x+y B 12-y alloys are compared from the point of view of crystallisation behaviour and changes in the short-range order in the amorphous reminder. The increase in Nb to 4.5 at.% in the latter system slows down the formation of nanocrystals to approximately 40% even after 16 hours of anneal at 550 C for x = 0.5, y = 3. Segregation-induced changes in the short-range order are manifested via hyperfine field distributions corresponding to the amorphous reminder. (orig.)

Reminder Objects in the Connected Home of the Future and Beyond

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Uhlig

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents best practices on how to design reminder objects. Reminder objects are digitally augmented everyday objects that break down and communicate complex information via sensory input and output. In the first section of this paper, we introduce reminder objects—what they are and how they work. We then describe our understanding of computing and the interaction between humans and technology, in detail, in the second section. We then present our vision on how reminder objects can enrich the user’s experience by combining different objects. We then use the three following sections to showcase corresponding examples of our work in the previously described field. Next, three scenarios—people with dementia living an independent life at home, checking the weather, and navigating the city—will illustrate our understanding of reminder objects. The paper then concludes with a discussion of the presented work and an outlook regarding the future of reminder objects.

A normative study of the Italian printed word version of the free and cued selective reminding test.

Science.gov (United States)

Girtler, N; De Carli, F; Amore, M; Arnaldi, D; Bosia, L E; Bruzzaniti, C; Cappa, S F; Cocito, L; Colazzo, G; Ghio, L; Magi, E; Mancardi, G L; Nobili, F; Pardini, M; Picco, A; Rissotto, R; Serrati, C; Brugnolo, A

2015-07-01

According to the new research criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, episodic memory impairment, not significantly improved by cueing, is the core neuropsychological marker, even at a pre-dementia stage. The FCSRT assesses verbal learning and memory using semantic cues and is widely used in Europe. Standardization values for the Italian population are available for the colored picture version, but not for the 16-item printed word version. In this study, we present age- and education-adjusted normative data for FCSRT-16 obtained using linear regression techniques and generalized linear model, and critical values for classifying sub-test performance into equivalent scores. Six scores were derived from the performance of 194 normal subjects (MMSE score, range 27-30, mean 29.5 ± 0.5) divided per decade (from 20 to 90), per gender and per level of education (4 levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-13, >13 years): immediate free recall (IFR), immediate total recall (ITR), recognition phase (RP), delayed free recall (DFR), delayed total recall (DTR), Index of Sensitivity of Cueing (ISC), number of intrusions. This study confirms the effect of age and education, but not of gender on immediate and delayed free and cued recall. The Italian version of the FCSRT-16 can be useful for both clinical and research purposes.

Enhanced selective removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution by novel polyethylenimine-functionalized ion imprinted hydrogel: Behaviors and mechanisms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Jingjing [State Key Laboratory of Pollutant Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing 210023 (China); School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China); Li, Zhengkui, E-mail: zhkuili@nju.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Pollutant Control and Resource Reuse, Nanjing 210023 (China); School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023 (China)

2015-12-30

Highlights: • A novel ion-imprinted poly(polyethylenimine/hydroxyethyl acrylate) hydrogel was synthesized. • The prepared hydrogel enhanced the selectivity of Cu(II) removal. • The material had high adsorption capacity and excellent regeneration property for copper. • The adsorption mechanism was the chelate interaction between functional groups and Cu(II) ions. - Abstract: A novel polyethylenimine-functionalized ion-imprinted hydrogel (Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA)) was newly synthesized by {sup 60}Co-γ-induced polymerization for the selective removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The adsorption performances including the adsorption capacity and selectivity of the novel hydrogel were much better than those of similar adsorbents reported. The hydrogel was characterized via scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra, thermal gravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the structure and mechanisms. The adsorption process was pH and temperature sensitive, better fitted to pseudo-second-order equation, and was Langmuir monolayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity for Cu(II) was 40.00 mg/g. The selectivity coefficients of ion-imprinted hydrogel for Cu(II)/Pb(II), Cu(II)/Cd(II) and Cu(II)/Ni(II) were 55.09, 107.47 and 63.12, respectively, which were 3.93, 4.25 and 3.53 times greater than those of non-imprinted hydrogel, respectively. Moreover, the adsorption capacity of Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA) could still keep more than 85% after four adsorption–desorption cycles. Because of such enhanced selective removal performance and excellent regeneration property, Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA) is a promising adsorbent for the selective removal of copper ions from wastewater.

Violent media exposure, aggression and CU traits in adolescence: Testing the selection and socialization hypotheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rydell, Ann-Margret

2016-10-01

We investigated the role of exposure to violent action for later aggression and for later callous-unemotional traits in a sample of Swedish adolescents (N = 77-85), testing the selection and socialization hypotheses. Adolescents reported on violent delinquency and on callous-unemotional (CU) traits at age 15, on their media habits at age 16 and on reactive and proactive aggression and CU traits at age 18. The socialization hypothesis was supported with regard to aggression, that is, violent delinquency did not affect consumption of violent action, but controlling for violent delinquency, consumption of violent action added to proactive aggression and, marginally, to reactive aggression. The selection hypothesis was supported with regard to CU traits, that is, high levels of CU traits predicted frequent consumption of violent action, but consumption of violent action did not affect later levels of CU traits. Frequent violent media use was associated with later aggression. The associations between CU traits and violent media need further study. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selective fluorescence detection of Cu{sup 2+} in aqueous solution and living cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saleem, Muhammad; Lee, Ki-Hwan, E-mail: khlee@kongju.ac.kr

2014-01-15

A rhodamine B semicarbazide 3 was synthesized by the reaction of rhodamine B acid chloride 2 with hydrazine carboxamide hydrochloride under reflux with triethyl amine in acetonitrile. It was used as selective fluorescent and colorimetric sensor for visual detection of Cu{sup 2+} over competitive ions (Fe{sup 3+},Fe{sup 2+}, Cr{sup 3+}, Cd{sup 2+}, Pb{sup 2+}, Zn{sup 2+}, Hg{sup 2+}, Co{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, Ca{sup 2+}, Mg{sup 2+}, Ag{sup 2+}, Mn{sup 2+}, Sr{sup 2+}, Cs{sup 2+}, Na{sup +}, K{sup +}, Li{sup +}) in aqueous methanol (1:1, v/v), exhibiting a fast response time, less than few second and a detection limit of 1.6×10{sup −7} mol/L at neutral pH. The proposed sensing system can be successfully applicable for determination of Cu{sup 2+} in waste water samples showing turn on fluorescence response and for further monitoring of intracellular Cu{sup 2+} levels in living cells with high sensitivity and selectivity at micro molar level concentrations using confocal fluorescence spectroscopy. The synthesis of probe 3 was confirmed by {sup 1}H NMR, {sup 13}C NMR and mass spectrometric analysis. -- Highlights: • New chemosensor rhodamine B semicarbazide 3 was synthesized. • Addition of Cu{sup +2} ion into aqueous solution of probe 3 gave visual color changes as well as fluorescent off/on observations. • The proposed spirolactam ring opening mechanism of the synthesized probe triggered by copper ion was revealed by using mass spectrum. • High selectivity and sensitivity of probe 3 towards Cu{sup +2} are excellent enough to detect micromolar level of Cu{sup +2} ion even in aqueous media and living cells.

Enhanced selective removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution by novel polyethylenimine-functionalized ion imprinted hydrogel: Behaviors and mechanisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jingjing; Li, Zhengkui

2015-12-30

A novel polyethylenimine-functionalized ion-imprinted hydrogel (Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA)) was newly synthesized by (60)Co-γ-induced polymerization for the selective removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The adsorption performances including the adsorption capacity and selectivity of the novel hydrogel were much better than those of similar adsorbents reported. The hydrogel was characterized via scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra, thermal gravimetric analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the structure and mechanisms. The adsorption process was pH and temperature sensitive, better fitted to pseudo-second-order equation, and was Langmuir monolayer adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity for Cu(II) was 40.00 mg/g. The selectivity coefficients of ion-imprinted hydrogel for Cu(II)/Pb(II), Cu(II)/Cd(II) and Cu(II)/Ni(II) were 55.09, 107.47 and 63.12, respectively, which were 3.93, 4.25 and 3.53 times greater than those of non-imprinted hydrogel, respectively. Moreover, the adsorption capacity of Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA) could still keep more than 85% after four adsorption-desorption cycles. Because of such enhanced selective removal performance and excellent regeneration property, Cu(II)-p(PEI/HEA) is a promising adsorbent for the selective removal of copper ions from wastewater. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cued memory decline in biomarker-defined preclinical Alzheimer disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Papp, Kathryn V; Rentz, Dorene M; Mormino, Elizabeth C; Schultz, Aaron P; Amariglio, Rebecca E; Quiroz, Yakeel; Johnson, Keith A; Sperling, Reisa A

2017-04-11

To determine whether a decline in cued recall is observable in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer disease (AD) in clinically normal older adults with elevated β-amyloid (Aβ) burden on PET imaging. Clinically normal older adults underwent baseline neuroimaging (PET to assess Aβ +/- status and MRI) and annual neuropsychological testing. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the relative risk of cued memory decline (drop of 1, 2, 3, or 4 points on the total score of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test) in relation to neuroimaging measures, functional status, age, sex, and education. A total of 276 older adults (Clinical Dementia Rating = 0, mean Mini-Mental State Examination score = 29 ± 1.06) were followed up for a mean of 3.6 ± 1.2 years. Despite the infrequency of cued memory decline (only 19% of participants scored ≤46/48 in total recall by year 3), Aβ + participants were 3.55 times (95% confidence interval = 1.77-7.12) more likely to exhibit decline in total recall (≤46/48) compared with their Aβ - peers. Furthermore, Aβ + participants who scored ≤46/48 had smaller hippocampal volumes ( t = 3.37, p = 0.001) and evidence of early functional decline, i.e., greater risk of progression to global Clinical Dementia Rating of 0.5 (χ 2 = 14.30, p recall. Cued memory decline in healthy older adults may be particularly indicative of Aβ-related decline during the preclinical stage of AD and useful for identifying Aβ + clinically normal individuals at greatest risk of short-term clinical progression. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

Promoting Ethylene Selectivity from CO2 Electroreduction on CuO Supported onto CO2 Capture Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hui-Juan; Yang, Hong; Hong, Yu-Hao; Zhang, Peng-Yang; Wang, Tao; Chen, Li-Na; Zhang, Feng-Yang; Wu, Qi-Hui; Tian, Na; Zhou, Zhi-You; Sun, Shi-Gang

2018-03-09

Cu is a unique catalyst for CO 2 electroreduction, since it can catalyze CO 2 reduction to a series of hydrocarbons, alcohols, and carboxylic acids. Nevertheless, such Cu catalysts suffer from poor selectivity. High pressure of CO 2 is considered to facilitate the activity and selectivity of CO 2 reduction. Herein, a new strategy is presented for CO 2 reduction with improved C 2 H 4 selectivity on a Cu catalyst by using CO 2 capture materials as the support at ambient pressure. N-doped carbon (N x C) was synthesized through high-temperature carbonization of melamine and l-lysine. We observed that the CO 2 uptake capacity of N x C depends on both the microporous area and the content of pyridinic N species, which can be controlled by the carbonization temperature (600-800 °C). The as-prepared CuO/N x C catalysts exhibit a considerably higher C 2 H 4 faradaic efficiency (36 %) than CuO supported on XC-72 carbon black (19 %), or unsupported CuO (20 %). Moreover, there is a good linear relationship between the C 2 H 4 faradaic efficiency and CO 2 uptake capacity of the supports for CuO. The local high CO 2 concentration near Cu catalysts, created by CO 2 capture materials, was proposed to increase the coverage of CO intermediate, which is favorable for the coupling of two CO units in the formation of C 2 H 4 . This study demonstrates that pairing Cu catalysts with CO 2 capture supports is a promising approach for designing highly effective CO 2 reduction electrocatalysts. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The effectiveness of computer reminders versus postal reminders for improving quality assessment for point-of-care testing in primary care

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siersma, Volkert; Kousgaard, Marius Brostrøm; Reventlow, Susanne

2015-01-01

Rationale, aims and objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the relative effectiveness of electronic and postal reminders for increasing adherence to the quality assurance programme for the international normalized ratio (INR) point-of-care testing (POCT) device inprimary care. Methods: All 213...... family practices that use the Elective Laboratory of the Capital Region, Denmark, and regularly conduct INR POCT were randomly allocated into two similarly sized groups. During the 4-month intervention, these practices were sent either computer reminders (ComRem) or computer generated postal reminders...... (Postal) if they did not perform a split test to check the quality of their INR POCT for each calendar month. The adherence of the practices was tracked during the subsequent 8 months subdivided into two 4-month periods both without intervention. Outcomes were measures of split test procedure adherence...

A DFT study and micro-kinetic analysis of acetylene selective hydrogenation on Pd-doped Cu(111) surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Ling-Ling; Lv, Cun-Qin; Wang, Gui-Chang

2017-01-01

Semi-hydrogenation of acetylene in a hydrogen-rich stream is an industrially important process. Inspired by the recent experiments that Cu(111) surface doped by a small number of Pd atoms can exhibit excellent catalytic performance toward the dissociation of H_2 molecule as well as the high selective hydrogenation of acetylene as compared with pure Cu and Pd metal alone at low-temperature, here we performed systematic first-principles calculations to investigate the corresponding reaction mechanism related to the acetylene hydrogenation processes on single atom alloys (SAAs) and monolayer Pd/Cu(111) (i.e.,1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111)) model catalysts in detail, and to explore the possible factors controlling the high selectivity on SAAs. Our results clearly demonstrate that the SAA catalyst has higher selectivity for the ethylene formation than that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111), and lower activity for the acetylene conversion compared with that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111). The relatively high selectivity on SAA is mainly due to the facile desorption of ethylene and moderate activity in the dissociation of molecular H_2. The main factor which lowers the selectivity towards the ethylene formation on 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111) is that this system has a higher capacity to promote the breaking of C−H/C−C bonds, which leads to the formation of carbonaceous deposits and polymers such as benzene, and thus reduces the selectivity for the ethylene formation. Meanwhile, it was found that the desorption energy of ethylene on these two surfaces was smaller than the energy barrier of further hydrogenation, which results in the absence of ethane on these two systems. Micro-kinetic model analysis provides a further valuable insight into the evidence for the key factors controlling the catalytic activity and selectivity towards the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Our findings may help people to design a highly selective hydrogenation catalyst by controlling the balance between the H_2 dissociation and

A DFT study and micro-kinetic analysis of acetylene selective hydrogenation on Pd-doped Cu(111) surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Ling-Ling; Lv, Cun-Qin; Wang, Gui-Chang

2017-07-01

Semi-hydrogenation of acetylene in a hydrogen-rich stream is an industrially important process. Inspired by the recent experiments that Cu(111) surface doped by a small number of Pd atoms can exhibit excellent catalytic performance toward the dissociation of H2 molecule as well as the high selective hydrogenation of acetylene as compared with pure Cu and Pd metal alone at low-temperature, here we performed systematic first-principles calculations to investigate the corresponding reaction mechanism related to the acetylene hydrogenation processes on single atom alloys (SAAs) and monolayer Pd/Cu(111) (i.e.,1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111)) model catalysts in detail, and to explore the possible factors controlling the high selectivity on SAAs. Our results clearly demonstrate that the SAA catalyst has higher selectivity for the ethylene formation than that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111), and lower activity for the acetylene conversion compared with that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111). The relatively high selectivity on SAA is mainly due to the facile desorption of ethylene and moderate activity in the dissociation of molecular H2. The main factor which lowers the selectivity towards the ethylene formation on 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111) is that this system has a higher capacity to promote the breaking of Csbnd H/Csbnd C bonds, which leads to the formation of carbonaceous deposits and polymers such as benzene, and thus reduces the selectivity for the ethylene formation. Meanwhile, it was found that the desorption energy of ethylene on these two surfaces was smaller than the energy barrier of further hydrogenation, which results in the absence of ethane on these two systems. Micro-kinetic model analysis provides a further valuable insight into the evidence for the key factors controlling the catalytic activity and selectivity towards the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Our findings may help people to design a highly selective hydrogenation catalyst by controlling the balance between the H2 dissociation and

Measuring agreement between decision support reminders: the cloud vs. the local expert.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Brian Edward; Simonaitis, Linas; Perkins, Susan M; Wright, Adam; Middleton, Blackford

2014-04-10

A cloud-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) was implemented to remotely provide evidence-based guideline reminders in support of preventative health. Following implementation, we measured the agreement between preventive care reminders generated by an existing, local CDSS and the new, cloud-based CDSS operating on the same patient visit data. Electronic health record data for the same set of patients seen in primary care were sent to both the cloud-based web service and local CDSS. The clinical reminders returned by both services were captured for analysis. Cohen's Kappa coefficient was calculated to compare the two sets of reminders. Kappa statistics were further adjusted for prevalence and bias due to the potential effects of bias in the CDS logic and prevalence in the relative small sample of patients. The cloud-based CDSS generated 965 clinical reminders for 405 patient visits over 3 months. The local CDSS returned 889 reminders for the same patient visit data. When adjusted for prevalence and bias, observed agreement varied by reminder from 0.33 (95% CI 0.24 - 0.42) to 0.99 (95% CI 0.97 - 1.00) and demonstrated almost perfect agreement for 7 of the 11 reminders. Preventive care reminders delivered by two disparate CDS systems show substantial agreement. Subtle differences in rule logic and terminology mapping appear to account for much of the discordance. Cloud-based CDSS therefore show promise, opening the door for future development and implementation in support of health care providers with limited resources for knowledge management of complex logic and rules.

Revisiting the effect of reminders on infants' media memories: does the encoding format matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Rachel; Brito, Natalie; Simcock, Gabrielle

2013-11-01

With the present research, the authors examined whether reminders could maintain 18-month-olds' memories generated from picture books and videos. Infants (N = 98) were shown a series of target actions in a picture book or on video. Either 24 hr or 2 weeks prior to a 4-week deferred imitation test, they were exposed to a reminder, a partial presentation of the original media demonstration. After both reminder delays, groups that received a video demonstration and a video reminder (video/video) performed significantly better than did the video-reminder-only control group (x/video), but groups that received a picture-book demonstration and a picture-book reminder (book/book) did not perform better than did the picture-book-reminder-only control (x/book). Additionally, if reminders did not veridically match the conditions of encoding (e.g., video demonstration and a book reminder, video/book or vice versa), infants also failed to perform better than controls. Theoretical implications for the understanding of long-term memory processing during early childhood and practical implications for early multimedia usage are discussed.

Reminder cues modulate the renewal effect in human predictive learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Bustamante

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Associative learning refers to our ability to learn about regularities in our environment. When a stimulus is repeatedly followed by a specific outcome, we learn to expect the outcome in the presence of the stimulus. We are also able to modify established expectations in the face of disconfirming information (the stimulus is no longer followed by the outcome. Both the change of environmental regularities and the related processes of adaptation are referred to as extinction. However, extinction does not erase the initially acquired expectations. For instance, following successful extinction, the initially learned expectations can recover when there is a context change – a phenomenon called the renewal effect, which is considered as a model for relapse after exposure therapy. Renewal was found to be modulated by reminder cues of acquisition and extinction. However, the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of reminder cues are not well understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of reminder cues on renewal in the field of human predictive learning. Experiment I demonstrated that renewal in human predictive learning is modulated by cues related to acquisition or extinction. Initially, participants received pairings of a stimulus and an outcome in one context. These stimulus-outcome pairings were preceded by presentations of a reminder cue (acquisition cue. Then, participants received extinction in a different context in which presentations of the stimulus were no longer followed by the outcome. These extinction trials were preceded by a second reminder cue (extinction cue. During a final phase conducted in a third context, participants showed stronger expectations of the outcome in the presence of the stimulus when testing was accompanied by the acquisition cue compared to the extinction cue. Experiment II tested an explanation of the reminder cue effect in terms of simple cue-outcome associations. Therefore

A DFT study and micro-kinetic analysis of acetylene selective hydrogenation on Pd-doped Cu(111) surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Ling-Ling [Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); Lv, Cun-Qin, E-mail: lcq173@126.com [College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shanxi Datong University, Datong 037009, Shanxi Province (China); Wang, Gui-Chang, E-mail: wangguichang@nankai.edu.cn [Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education) and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China)

2017-07-15

Semi-hydrogenation of acetylene in a hydrogen-rich stream is an industrially important process. Inspired by the recent experiments that Cu(111) surface doped by a small number of Pd atoms can exhibit excellent catalytic performance toward the dissociation of H{sub 2} molecule as well as the high selective hydrogenation of acetylene as compared with pure Cu and Pd metal alone at low-temperature, here we performed systematic first-principles calculations to investigate the corresponding reaction mechanism related to the acetylene hydrogenation processes on single atom alloys (SAAs) and monolayer Pd/Cu(111) (i.e.,1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111)) model catalysts in detail, and to explore the possible factors controlling the high selectivity on SAAs. Our results clearly demonstrate that the SAA catalyst has higher selectivity for the ethylene formation than that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111), and lower activity for the acetylene conversion compared with that of 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111). The relatively high selectivity on SAA is mainly due to the facile desorption of ethylene and moderate activity in the dissociation of molecular H{sub 2}. The main factor which lowers the selectivity towards the ethylene formation on 1.00 ML Pd/Cu(111) is that this system has a higher capacity to promote the breaking of C−H/C−C bonds, which leads to the formation of carbonaceous deposits and polymers such as benzene, and thus reduces the selectivity for the ethylene formation. Meanwhile, it was found that the desorption energy of ethylene on these two surfaces was smaller than the energy barrier of further hydrogenation, which results in the absence of ethane on these two systems. Micro-kinetic model analysis provides a further valuable insight into the evidence for the key factors controlling the catalytic activity and selectivity towards the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Our findings may help people to design a highly selective hydrogenation catalyst by controlling the balance between the H{sub 2

REMINDER FROM MEDIAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Service médical

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses - on Telephone: 73802. - by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2001-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802. by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802. by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Service Médical

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on telephone: 73802. by electronic mail to: Infirmary.Service@cern.chMarion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Medical Service

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Service Médical

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor.For information, call the Nurses- on Telephone73802- by electronic mailInfirmary.Service@cern.chMarion.Diedrich@cern.chJanet.Doody@cern.chMireille.Vosdey@cern.chMedical Service

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Service Médical

2000-01-01

iFor medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802. by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2002-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the nurses: on telephone: 73802 by e-mail: Service.Medical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor.For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802 or by electronic mail:Infirmary.Service@cern.chMarion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.chMedicalService

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2001-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on telephone: 73802. by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Service médical

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites,be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor.For information, call the Nurseson telephone: 73802.by electronic mail to:Infirmary.Service@cern.chMarion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.chMedicalService

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2001-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802 by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch  

Reminder from Medical Service

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2004-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the nurses on telephone: 73802 by e-mail: Service.Medical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

Selective production of oxygenates from CO2 hydrogenation over mesoporous silica supported Cu-Ga nanocomposite catalyst

KAUST Repository

Huang, Kuo-Wei

2017-11-23

Carbon dioxide hydrogenation to oxygenates (methanol and dimethyl ether (DME)) was investigated over bifunctional supported copper catalysts promoted with gallium (Ga). Supported Cu-Ga nanocomposite catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and H2 temperature programmed reduction. In comparison with Cu-SBA-15 based catalysts, Ga promoted catalysts prepared by the urea deposition method (CuGa/SBA-15-UDP) was found active and selective for CO2 hydrogenation to oxygenates. The use of Ga as the promoter showed increased acidic sites as confirmed by the NH3-TPD, Pyridine-IR and 2,6-lutidine-IR studies. The favorable effect of Ga on CO2 conversion and selectivity to oxygenate may come from the strong interaction of Ga with silica, which is responsible for the enhanced metal surface area, formation of nanocomposite and metal dispersion. Notably, incorporation of Ga to Cu/SiO2 showed a several-fold higher rate for methanol formation (13.12 mol/gCu·sec) with a reasonable rate for the DME formation (2.15 mol/gCu·sec) as compared to those of Cu/SiO2 catalysts.

Parent opinions about use of text messaging for immunization reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn Rose; Chesser, Amy K; Paschal, Angelia M; Hart, Traci A; Williams, Katherine S; Yaghmai, Beryl; Shah-Haque, Sapna

2012-06-06

Adherence to childhood immunization schedules is a function of various factors. Given the increased use of technology as a strategy to increase immunization coverage, it is important to investigate how parents perceive different forms of communication, including traditional means and text-message reminders. To examine current forms of communication about immunization information, parents' satisfaction levels with these communication modes, perceived barriers and benefits to using text messaging, and the ideal content of text messages for immunization reminders. Structured interviews were developed and approved by two Institutional Review Boards. A convenience sample of 50 parents was recruited from two local pediatric clinics. The study included a demographics questionnaire, the shortened form of the Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults (S-TOFHLA), questions regarding benefits and barriers of text communication from immunization providers, and preferred content for immunization reminders. Content analyses were performed on responses to barriers, benefits, and preferred content (all Cohen's kappas > 0.70). Respondents were mostly female (45/50, 90%), white non-Hispanic (31/50, 62%), between 20-41 years (mean = 29, SD 5), with one or two children (range 1-9). Nearly all (48/50, 96%) had an S-TOFHLA score in the "adequate" range. All parents (50/50, 100%) engaged in face-to-face contact with their child's physician at appointments, 74% (37/50) had contact via telephone, and none of the parents (0/50, 0%) used email or text messages. Most parents were satisfied with the face-to-face (48/50, 96%) and telephone (28/50, 75%) communication. Forty-nine of the 50 participants (98%) were interested in receiving immunization reminders by text message, and all parents (50/50, 100%) were willing to receive general appointment reminders by text message. Parents made 200 comments regarding text-message reminders. Benefits accounted for 63.5% of comments (127/200). The

Telephone reminders reduced the non-attendance rate in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeppesen, Maja Haunstrup; Ainsworth, Mark Andrew

2015-06-01

Non-attendance is a global health-care problem. The aim of the present study was 1) to investigate if a telephone reminder could reduce the non-attendance rate, 2) to study reasons for non-attendance and 3) to evaluate if a permanent implementation would be economically advantageous in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic like ours. This was a comparative intervention study with a historical control group in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic. The study lasted six months. Patients with a scheduled appointment in the first three-month period received no reminder (control group, n = 2,705). Patients in the following three-month period were reminded by telephone one weekday in advance of their appointment, when possible (intervention group, n = 2,479). Non-attending patients in the intervention group received a questionnaire. Based on the results, a financial cost-benefit analysis was made. In the intervention group, 1,577 (64%) patients answered the reminder telephone call. The non-attendance rate was significantly lower in the intervention group (6.1%) than in the control group (10.5%) (p < 0.00001). Only 1.3% of the patients who answered the reminder turned out to be non-attendees. The most common explanation for non-attendance in the intervention group was forgetfulness (39%). The reminder telephone call was cost-effective. In this outpatient clinic, telephone reminders were cost-effective and significantly reduced the non-attendance rate by 43%.

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the nurses - on telephone: 73802 - by e-mail:Service.Médical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

REMINDER FROM MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the nurses - on telephone: 73802 - by e-mail: Service.Médical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

Reminder from Medical Service

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, contact the nurses on telephone: 73802 by e-mail: Service.Médical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

New influence factor inducing difficulty in selective flotation separation of Cu-Zn mixed sulfide minerals

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Jiu-shuai; Mao, Ying-bo; Wen, Shu-ming; Liu, Jian; Xian, Yong-jun; Feng, Qi-cheng

2015-02-01

Selective flotation separation of Cu-Zn mixed sulfides has been proven to be difficult. Thus far, researchers have found no satisfactory way to separate Cu-Zn mixed sulfides by selective flotation, mainly because of the complex surface and interface interaction mechanisms in the flotation solution. Undesired activation occurs between copper ions and the sphalerite surfaces. In addition to recycled water and mineral dissolution, ancient fluids in the minerals are observed to be a new source of metal ions. In this study, significant amounts of ancient fluids were found to exist in Cu-Zn sulfide and gangue minerals, mostly as gas-liquid fluid inclusions. The concentration of copper ions released from the ancient fluids reached 1.02 × 10-6 mol/L, whereas, in the cases of sphalerite and quartz, this concentration was 0.62 × 10-6 mol/L and 0.44 × 10-6 mol/L, respectively. As a result, the ancient fluid is a significant source of copper ions compared to mineral dissolution under the same experimental conditions, which promotes the unwanted activation of sphalerite. Therefore, the ancient fluid is considered to be a new factor that affects the selective flotation separation of Cu-Zn mixed sulfide ores.

Email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Helen; Sawmynaden, Prescilla; Meyer, Barbara; Car, Josip

2012-08-15

Email is a popular and commonly-used method of communication, but its use in health care is not routine. Where email communication has been utilised in health care, its purposes have included the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders, but the effects of using email in this way are not known. This review considers the use of email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and reminders for attendance; particularly scheduling, rescheduling and cancelling healthcare appointments, and providing prompts/reminders for attendance at appointments. To assess the effects of using email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders, compared to other forms of coordinating appointments and reminders, on outcomes for health professionals, patients and carers, and health services, including harms. We searched: the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 1 2010), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (1950 to January 2010), EMBASE (OvidSP) (1980 to January 2010), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (1967 to January 2010), CINAHL (EbscoHOST) (1982 to February 2010),and ERIC (CSA) (1965 to January 2010). We searched grey literature: theses/dissertation repositories, trials registers and Google Scholar (searched July 2010). We used additional search methods: examining reference lists and contacting authors. Randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies of interventions that use email for scheduling health appointments, for reminders for a scheduled health appointment or for ongoing coordination of health appointments and that took the form of 1) unsecured email 2) secure email or 3) web messaging. All healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers in all settings were considered. Two review authors independently assessed the titles and abstracts of retrieved

Highly selective detection of glutathione using a NIP/Cu2+ complex fluorescent probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Wenrui; Zhao Zhi; Zhang Yang; Wang Qiusheng; Zhao Xin; Ouyang Jie

2012-01-01

A novel fluorescent compound, 4-(trimethyl ammonium chloride)acetamide-2-(1H-naphtho[2,3-d]imidazol-2-yl)phenol (TMACA-NIP), was synthesized and used as a fluorescent probe for detecting glutathione reduced (GSH). The new NIP-based probe exhibited high fluorescence in water, which was quenched during the presence of copper (II) due to the complexation between TMACA-NIP and Cu 2+ . But after adding GSH into the TMACA-NIP and Cu 2+ system, the fluorescence of TMACA-NIP was recovered because the binding force between GSH and Cu 2+ is stronger than that between TMACA-NIP and Cu 2+ , which destroys the equilibrium between NIP and copper (II) ions and releases the fluorescence probe of TMACA-NIP. This three-component competing system of NIP/Cu 2+ /GSH can be used to detect GSH simply and rapidly. - Highlights: ► A novel fluorescence probe was developed to detect GSH that operates in aqueous solution. ► TMACA-NIP was synthesized and employed as “read-out” units of NIP/Cu 2+ /GSH. ► NIP-based probe shows high selectivity over other sulfhydryl compounds.

Effectiveness of mobile-phone short message service (SMS reminders for ophthalmology outpatient appointments: Observational study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Car Josip

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Non-attendance for hospital outpatient appointments is a significant problem in many countries. It causes suboptimal use of clinical and administrative staff and financial losses, as well as longer waiting times. The use of Short Message Service (SMS appointment reminders potentially offers a cost-effective and time-efficient strategy to decrease non-attendance and so improve the efficiency of outpatient healthcare delivery. Methods An SMS text message was sent to patients with scheduled appointments between April and September 2006 in a hospital ophthalmology department in London, reminding them of their appointments. This group acted as the intervention group. Controls were patients with scheduled ophthalmology appointments who did not receive an SMS or any alternative reminder. Results During the period of the study, 11.2% (50/447 of patients who received an SMS appointment reminder were non-attenders, compared to 18.1% (1720/9512 who did not receive an SMS reminder. Non-attendance rates were 38% lower in patients who received an SMS reminder than in patients who did not receive a reminder (RR of non-attendance = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.48 – 0.80. Conclusion The use of SMS reminders for ophthalmology outpatient appointments was associated with a reduction of 38% in the likelihood of patients not attending their appointments, compared to no appointment reminder. The use of SMS reminders may also be more cost-effective than traditional appointment reminders and require less labour. These findings should be confirmed with a more rigorous study design before a wider roll-out.

Health care professionals' beliefs about using wiki-based reminders to promote best practices in trauma care.

Science.gov (United States)

Archambault, Patrick Michel; Bilodeau, Andrea; Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Aubin, Karine; Lavoie, André; Lapointe, Jean; Poitras, Julien; Croteau, Sylvain; Pham-Dinh, Martin; Légaré, France

2012-04-19

Wikis are knowledge translation tools that could help health professionals implement best practices in acute care. Little is known about the factors influencing professionals' use of wikis. To identify and compare the beliefs of emergency physicians (EPs) and allied health professionals (AHPs) about using a wiki-based reminder that promotes evidence-based care for traumatic brain injuries. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, we conducted semistructured interviews to elicit EPs' and AHPs' beliefs about using a wiki-based reminder. Previous studies suggested a sample of 25 EPs and 25 AHPs. We purposefully selected participants from three trauma centers in Quebec, Canada, to obtain a representative sample. Using univariate analyses, we assessed whether our participants' gender, age, and level of experience were similar to those of all eligible individuals. Participants viewed a video showing a clinician using a wiki-based reminder, and we interviewed participants about their behavioral, control, and normative beliefs-that is, what they saw as advantages, disadvantages, barriers, and facilitators to their use of a reminder, and how they felt important referents would perceive their use of a reminder. Two reviewers independently analyzed the content of the interview transcripts. We considered the 75% most frequently mentioned beliefs as salient. We retained some less frequently mentioned beliefs as well. Of 66 eligible EPs and 444 eligible AHPs, we invited 55 EPs and 39 AHPs to participate, and 25 EPs and 25 AHPs (15 nurses, 7 respiratory therapists, and 3 pharmacists) accepted. Participating AHPs had more experience than eligible AHPs (mean 14 vs 11 years; P = .04). We noted no other significant differences. Among EPs, the most frequently reported advantage of using a wiki-based reminder was that it refreshes the memory (n = 14); among AHPs, it was that it provides rapid access to protocols (n = 16). Only 2 EPs mentioned a disadvantage (the wiki added stress

Health Care Professionals’ Beliefs About Using Wiki-Based Reminders to Promote Best Practices in Trauma Care

Science.gov (United States)

Bilodeau, Andrea; Gagnon, Marie-Pierre; Aubin, Karine; Lavoie, André; Lapointe, Jean; Poitras, Julien; Croteau, Sylvain; Pham-Dinh, Martin; Légaré, France

2012-01-01

Background Wikis are knowledge translation tools that could help health professionals implement best practices in acute care. Little is known about the factors influencing professionals’ use of wikis. Objectives To identify and compare the beliefs of emergency physicians (EPs) and allied health professionals (AHPs) about using a wiki-based reminder that promotes evidence-based care for traumatic brain injuries. Methods Drawing on the theory of planned behavior, we conducted semistructured interviews to elicit EPs’ and AHPs’ beliefs about using a wiki-based reminder. Previous studies suggested a sample of 25 EPs and 25 AHPs. We purposefully selected participants from three trauma centers in Quebec, Canada, to obtain a representative sample. Using univariate analyses, we assessed whether our participants’ gender, age, and level of experience were similar to those of all eligible individuals. Participants viewed a video showing a clinician using a wiki-based reminder, and we interviewed participants about their behavioral, control, and normative beliefs—that is, what they saw as advantages, disadvantages, barriers, and facilitators to their use of a reminder, and how they felt important referents would perceive their use of a reminder. Two reviewers independently analyzed the content of the interview transcripts. We considered the 75% most frequently mentioned beliefs as salient. We retained some less frequently mentioned beliefs as well. Results Of 66 eligible EPs and 444 eligible AHPs, we invited 55 EPs and 39 AHPs to participate, and 25 EPs and 25 AHPs (15 nurses, 7 respiratory therapists, and 3 pharmacists) accepted. Participating AHPs had more experience than eligible AHPs (mean 14 vs 11 years; P = .04). We noted no other significant differences. Among EPs, the most frequently reported advantage of using a wiki-based reminder was that it refreshes the memory (n = 14); among AHPs, it was that it provides rapid access to protocols (n = 16). Only 2 EPs

Sistem Reminder Donor Darah dengan Memanfaatkan Teknologi Location Based Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail Abdus Shobar

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Donor darah merupakan kegiatan kemanusiaan yang bertujuan untuk membantu anggota masyarakat yang membutuhkan darah. Kegiatan donor darah diselenggarakan dan dikelola oleh Palang Merah Indonesia. Menurut catatan Palang Merah Indonesia, secara keseluruhan kebutuhan kantung darah yang tidak terpenuhi melebihi satu juta kantung darah. Untuk itu dibutuhkan peningkatan produksi kantung darah. Salah satu solusi yang dapat dilakukan adalah perancangan suatu sistem informasi geografis (GIS yang memudahkan pendonor untuk mendonorkan darahnya kembali dengan reminder donor darah dan membantu PMI mendapatkan kantung darah. Makalah ini membahas perancangan sistem reminder donor darah dengan menggunakan teknologi location based service. Kemudian untuk menguji sistem, dibuatkan sebuah prototype dengan hasil pengujian sistem menunjukkan bahwa sistem reminder donor darah dapat memudahkan pendonor dalam mendonorkan darahnya kembali sehingga memberikan motivasi bagi pendonor untuk lebih giat dalam mendonorkan darahnya. Sistem ini berpotensi meningkatkan produktivitas PMI dalam mengumpulkan kantong darah sehingga pemenuhan kebutuhan kantung darah masyarakat dapat meningkat yang pada akhirnya dapat menyelamatkan lebih banyak nyawa manusia khususnya di Indonesia. Kata kunci: donor darah, reminder, GIS, location based service.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: reminder systems to reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections and urinary catheter use in hospitalized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Meddings, Jennifer; Rogers, Mary A M; Macy, Michelle; Saint, Sanjay

2010-09-01

Prolonged catheterization is the primary risk factor for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Reminder systems are interventions used to prompt the removal of unnecessary urinary catheters. To summarize the effect of urinary catheter reminder systems on the rate of CAUTI, urinary catheter use, and the need for recatheterization, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. Studies were identified in MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Biosis, the Web of Science, EMBASE, and CINAHL through August 2008. Only interventional studies that used reminders to physicians or nurses that a urinary catheter was in use or stop orders to prompt catheter removal in hospitalized adults were included. A total of 6679 citations were identified; 118 articles were reviewed, and 14 articles met the selection criteria. The rate of CAUTI (episodes per 1000 catheter-days) was reduced by 52% (P SMD) in the duration of catheterization was -1.11 overall (P = 070), including a statistically significant decrease in studies that used a stop order (SMD, -0.30; P = .001) but not in those that used a reminder (SMD, -1.54; P = .071). Recatheterization rates were similar in control and intervention groups. Urinary catheter reminders and stop orders appear to reduce the rate of CAUTI and should be strongly considered to enhance the safety of hospitalized patients.

Crystallisation kinetics of amorphous Fe{sub 72.5-x}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 4.5}Si{sub 10+x+y}B{sub 12-y} alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miglierini, M. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics; Lipka, J. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics; Sitek, J. [Komenskeho Univ., Bratislava (Czechoslovakia). Dept. of Nuclear Physics and Technics

1994-11-01

Fe{sub 73.5}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 3}Si{sub 13.5}B{sub 9} and Fe{sub 72.5-x}Cu{sub 1}Nb{sub 4.5}Si{sub 10+x+y}B{sub 12-y} alloys are compared from the point of view of crystallisation behaviour and changes in the short-range order in the amorphous reminder. The increase in Nb to 4.5 at.% in the latter system slows down the formation of nanocrystals to approximately 40% even after 16 hours of anneal at 550 C for x = 0.5, y = 3. Segregation-induced changes in the short-range order are manifested via hyperfine field distributions corresponding to the amorphous reminder. (orig.)

Patient reminder and recall interventions to improve immunization rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson Vann, Julie C; Jacobson, Robert M; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Asafu-Adjei, Josephine K; Szilagyi, Peter G

2018-01-18

Immunization rates for children and adults are rising, but coverage levels have not reached optimal goals. As a result, vaccine-preventable diseases still occur. In an era of increasing complexity of immunization schedules, rising expectations about the performance of primary care, and large demands on primary care providers, it is important to understand and promote interventions that work in primary care settings to increase immunization coverage. One common theme across immunization programs in many nations involves the challenge of implementing a population-based approach and identifying all eligible recipients, for example the children who should receive the measles vaccine. However, this issue is gradually being addressed through the availability of immunization registries and electronic health records. A second common theme is identifying the best strategies to promote high vaccination rates. Three types of strategies have been studied: (1) patient-oriented interventions, such as patient reminder or recall, (2) provider interventions, and (3) system interventions, such as school laws. One of the most prominent intervention strategies, and perhaps best studied, involves patient reminder or recall systems. This is an update of a previously published review. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of various types of patient reminder and recall interventions to improve receipt of immunizations. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL to January 2017. We also searched grey literature and trial registers to January 2017. We included randomized trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series evaluating immunization-focused patient reminder or recall interventions in children, adolescents, and adults who receive immunizations in any setting. We included no-intervention control groups, standard practice activities that did not include immunization patient reminder or recall, media-based activities aimed at promoting immunizations

Persuasive texts for prompting action: Agency assignment in HPV vaccination reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

McGlone, Matthew S; Stephens, Keri K; Rodriguez, Serena A; Fernandez, Maria E

2017-08-03

Vaccination reminders must both inform and persuade, and text messages designed for this purpose must do so in 160 characters or less. We tested a strategy for improving the impact of HPV vaccination text message reminders through strategic wording. In an experiment conducted in community settings, 167 Spanish-speaking Latina mothers reviewed text message reminders that assigned the cause or "agency" for HPV transmission to their daughters or the virus, and assigned protection agency to the mothers or the vaccine. Reminder messages framing transmission as an action of the virus prompted mothers to perceive the threat as more severe than messages describing their daughters as the cause. Assigning transmission agency to the virus also held a persuasive advantage in boosting mothers' intentions to seek vaccination, particularly when the message cast mothers as agents of protection rather than the vaccine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-time alerts and reminders using information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wanderer, Jonathan P; Sandberg, Warren S; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M

2011-09-01

Adoption of information systems throughout the hospital environment has enabled the development of real-time physiologic alerts and clinician reminder systems. These clinical tools can be made available through the deployment of anesthesia information management systems (AIMS). Creating usable alert systems requires understanding of technical considerations. Various successful implementations are reviewed, encompassing cost reduction, improved revenue capture, timely antibiotic administration, and postoperative nausea and vomiting prophylaxis. Challenges to the widespread use of real-time alerts and reminders include AIMS adoption rates and the difficulty in choosing appropriate areas and approaches for information systems support. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Telephone reminders reduced the non-attendance rate in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Maja Haunstrup; Ainsworth, Mark Andrew

2015-01-01

in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic like ours. METHODS: This was a comparative intervention study with a historical control group in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic. The study lasted six months. Patients with a scheduled appointment in the first three-month period received no reminder (control group, n = 2......,705). Patients in the following three-month period were reminded by telephone one weekday in advance of their appointment, when possible (intervention group, n = 2,479). Non-attending patients in the intervention group received a questionnaire. Based on the results, a financial cost-benefit analysis was made......-attendees. The most common explanation for non-attendance in the intervention group was forgetfulness (39%). The reminder telephone call was cost-effective. CONCLUSION: In this outpatient clinic, telephone reminders were cost-effective and significantly reduced the non-attendance rate by 43%....

Synthesis of a Cu2+-Selective Probe Derived from Rhodamine and Its Application in Cell Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunwei Yu

2014-11-01

Full Text Available A new fluorescent probe P based on rhodamine for Cu2+ was synthesized and characterized. The new probe P showed high selectivity to Cu2+ over other tested metal ions. With optimal conditions, the proposed probe P worked in a wide linear range of 1.0 × 10−6–1.0 × 10−5 M with a detection limit of 3.3 × 10−7 M Cu2+ in ethanol-water solution (9:1, v:v, 20 mM HEPES, pH 7.0. Furthermore, it has been used for imaging of Cu2+ in living cells with satisfying results.

REMINDER FROM THE MEDICAL SERVICE

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2000-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, be they staff or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the Nurses on Telephone: 73802 by electronic mail: Infirmary.Service@cern.ch Marion.Diedrich@cern.ch Janet.Doody@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch

Supporting patient adherence to antiretrovirals using mobile phone reminders: patient responses from South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidney, Kristi; Antony, Jimmy; Rodrigues, Rashmi; Arumugam, Karthika; Krishnamurthy, Shubha; D'souza, George; De Costa, Ayesha; Shet, Anita

2012-01-01

There has been exponential growth in the use of mobile phones in India over the last few years, and their potential benefits as a healthcare tool has raised tremendous interest. We used mobile phone reminders to help support adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIV patients at an infectious disease clinic in a tertiary hospital in Bangalore. Between March and June 2010, 139 adult HIV patients taking regular ART for at least a month received weekly reminders to support adherence. These reminders consisted of a weekly interactive call and a non-interactive neutral pictorial short message service (SMS). After four weeks of the intervention, participants were interviewed to study perceptions on preference, usefulness, potential stigma and privacy concerns associated with this intervention. Majority of the participants were urban (89%), and had at least a secondary education (85%). A total of 744 calls were made, 545 (76%) of which were received by the participants. In addition, all participants received the weekly pictorial SMS reminder. A month later, 90% of participants reported the intervention as being helpful as medication reminders, and did not feel their privacy was intruded. Participants (87%) reported that they preferred the call as reminders, just 11% favoured SMS reminders alone. Only 59% of participants viewed all the SMSs that were delivered, while 15% never viewed any at all. Participants also denied any discomfort or stigma despite 20% and 13%, respectively, reporting that another person had inadvertently received their reminder call or SMS. Mobile phone interventions are an acceptable way of supporting adherence in this setting. Voice calls rather than SMSs alone seem to be preferred as reminders. Further research to study the influence of this intervention on adherence and health maintenance is warranted.

Vaccination against seasonal influenza: a reminder

CERN Multimedia

Medical Service

2013-01-01

At this time every year, the Medical Service suggests that you should get vaccinated against seasonal flu.   We would like to remind you that vaccination is the best method of protecting yourself and others against this contagious illness which can have serious consequences for certain people, especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions (e.g. chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular or kidney disease or diabetes), pregnant women, people suffering from obesity (BMI>30) and those over 65. As the Medical Service does not supply the vaccine, you must purchase it from a pharmacy (without the need for a prescription in France). From the beginning of October you can then bring your vaccine to the Infirmary (Building 57-Ground floor) and get vaccinated without an appointment between 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. For the purposes of health insurance reimbursement, you can get a prescription from the Medical Service either on the day of the injection or beforehand. Reminder: The...

Vaccination against seasonal influenza: a reminder

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

At this time every year the Medical Service suggests that you should get vaccinated against seasonal flu.   We would like to remind you that vaccination is the best method of protecting yourself and others against this contagious illness which can have serious consequences for certain people, especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions (e.g. chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular or kidney disease or diabetes), pregnant women, people suffering from obesity (BMI>30) and those over 65. As the Medical Service does not supply the vaccine, you must purchase it from a pharmacy (in France you don't need a prescription). From the beginning of October you can then bring your vaccine to the Infirmary (Building 57-Ground floor) and get vaccinated without an appointment between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For the purposes of health insurance reimbursement, you can get a prescription from the Medical Service either on the day of the injection or beforehand. Reminder:...

Generation of Cu–In alloy surfaces from CuInO2 as selective catalytic sites for CO2 electroreduction

KAUST Repository

Jedidi, Abdesslem

2015-08-11

The lack of availability of efficient, selective and stable electrocatalysts is a major hindrance for scalable CO2 reduction processes. Herein, we report the generation of Cu–In alloy surfaces for electrochemical reduction of CO2 from mixed metal oxides of CuInO2 as the starting material. The material successfully generates selective active sites to form CO from CO2 electroreduction at mild overpotentials. Density functional theory (DFT) indicates that the site occupation of the inert In occurs more on the specific sites of Cu. In addition, while In atoms do not preferentially adsorb H or CO, Cu atoms, which neighbor the In atoms, alters the preference of their adsorption. This preference for site occupation and altered adsorption may account for the improved selectivity over that observed for Cu metal. This study demonstrates an example of a scalable synthesis method of bimetallic surfaces utilized with the mixed oxide precursor having the diversity of metal choice, which may drastically alter the electrocatalytic performance, as presented herein.

Generation of Cu–In alloy surfaces from CuInO2 as selective catalytic sites for CO2 electroreduction

KAUST Repository

Jedidi, Abdesslem; Rasul, Shahid; Masih, Dilshad; Cavallo, Luigi; Takanabe, Kazuhiro

2015-01-01

The lack of availability of efficient, selective and stable electrocatalysts is a major hindrance for scalable CO2 reduction processes. Herein, we report the generation of Cu–In alloy surfaces for electrochemical reduction of CO2 from mixed metal oxides of CuInO2 as the starting material. The material successfully generates selective active sites to form CO from CO2 electroreduction at mild overpotentials. Density functional theory (DFT) indicates that the site occupation of the inert In occurs more on the specific sites of Cu. In addition, while In atoms do not preferentially adsorb H or CO, Cu atoms, which neighbor the In atoms, alters the preference of their adsorption. This preference for site occupation and altered adsorption may account for the improved selectivity over that observed for Cu metal. This study demonstrates an example of a scalable synthesis method of bimetallic surfaces utilized with the mixed oxide precursor having the diversity of metal choice, which may drastically alter the electrocatalytic performance, as presented herein.

Cued recall measure predicts the progression of gray matter atrophy in patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Koric, Lejla; Ranjeva, Jean-Philippe; Felician, Olivier; Guye, Maxime; de Anna, Francesca; Soulier, Elisabeth; Didic, Mira; Ceccaldi, Mathieu

2013-01-01

Amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a heterogeneous syndrome that could be subdivided into distinct neuropsychological variants. To investigate relationships between the neuropsychological profile of memory impairment at baseline and the neuroimaging pattern of grey matter (GM) loss over 18 months, we performed a prospective volumetric brain study on 31 aMCI patients and 29 matched controls. All subjects were tested at baseline using a standardized neuropsychological battery, which included the Free and Cued Selective Recall Reminding Test (FCSRT) for the assessment of verbal declarative memory. Over 18 months, patients with impaired free recall but normal total recall (high index of cueing) on the FCSRT developed subcortical and frontal GM loss, while patients with impaired free and total recall (low index of cueing) developed GM atrophy within the left anterior and lateral temporal lobe. In summary, cued recall deficits are associated with a progression of atrophy that closely parallels the spatiotemporal distribution of neurofibrillary degeneration in early Alzheimer's disease (AD), indicating possible AD pathological changes. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Reminder from the Medical Service

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

For medical problems, we would like to remind all personnel working on the CERN sites, staff members or from outside firms, that they are welcome at the Infirmary, building 57, ground floor. For information, call the nurses - on telephone: 73802 - by e-mail: Service.Médical@cern.ch Francoise.Lebrun-Klauser@cern.ch Mireille.Vosdey@cern.ch Katie.Warrillow-Thomson@cern.ch Medical Service

A novel coping metal material CoCrCu alloy fabricated by selective laser melting with antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Ling [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 (China); Memarzadeh, Kaveh [Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Newark Street, London E1 2AT (United Kingdom); Zhang, Shuyuan; Sun, Ziqing; Yang, Chunguang [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 (China); Ren, Guogang [University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB (United Kingdom); Allaker, Robert P., E-mail: r.p.allaker@qmul.ac.uk [Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Newark Street, London E1 2AT (United Kingdom); Yang, Ke, E-mail: kyang@imr.ac.cn [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016 (China)

2016-10-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to fabricate a novel coping metal CoCrCu alloy using a selective laser melting (SLM) technique with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities and to investigate its microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Methods: Novel CoCrCu alloy was fabricated using SLM from a mixture of commercial CoCr based alloy and elemental Cu powders. SLM CoCr without Cu served as control. Antibacterial activity was analyzed using standard antimicrobial tests, and antibiofilm properties were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscope. Cu distribution and microstructure were determined using scanning electron microscope, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by potential dynamic polarization and biocompatibility measured using an MTT assay. Results: SLM CoCrCu alloys were found to be bactericidal and able to inhibit biofilm formation. Other factors such as microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility were similar to those of SLM CoCr alloys. Significance: The addition of appropriate amounts of Cu not only maintains normal beneficial properties of CoCr based alloys, but also provides SLM CoCrCu alloys with excellent antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities. This material has the potential to be used as a coping metal for dental applications. - Highlights: • Novel CoCrCu alloys were fabricated by using selective laser melting (SLM). • SLM CoCrCu alloys showed satisfied antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. • SLM CoCrCu alloys have no cytotoxic effect on normal cells. • Other properties of SLM CoCrCu alloys were similar to SLM CoCr alloys. • SLM CoCrCu alloys have the potential to be used as coping metals.

A novel coping metal material CoCrCu alloy fabricated by selective laser melting with antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Ling; Memarzadeh, Kaveh; Zhang, Shuyuan; Sun, Ziqing; Yang, Chunguang; Ren, Guogang; Allaker, Robert P.; Yang, Ke

2016-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to fabricate a novel coping metal CoCrCu alloy using a selective laser melting (SLM) technique with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities and to investigate its microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Methods: Novel CoCrCu alloy was fabricated using SLM from a mixture of commercial CoCr based alloy and elemental Cu powders. SLM CoCr without Cu served as control. Antibacterial activity was analyzed using standard antimicrobial tests, and antibiofilm properties were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscope. Cu distribution and microstructure were determined using scanning electron microscope, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by potential dynamic polarization and biocompatibility measured using an MTT assay. Results: SLM CoCrCu alloys were found to be bactericidal and able to inhibit biofilm formation. Other factors such as microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility were similar to those of SLM CoCr alloys. Significance: The addition of appropriate amounts of Cu not only maintains normal beneficial properties of CoCr based alloys, but also provides SLM CoCrCu alloys with excellent antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities. This material has the potential to be used as a coping metal for dental applications. - Highlights: • Novel CoCrCu alloys were fabricated by using selective laser melting (SLM). • SLM CoCrCu alloys showed satisfied antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. • SLM CoCrCu alloys have no cytotoxic effect on normal cells. • Other properties of SLM CoCrCu alloys were similar to SLM CoCr alloys. • SLM CoCrCu alloys have the potential to be used as coping metals.

A Prospective Controlled Trial of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Reminder System.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Richard T; Barysauskas, Constance M; Rundensteiner, Elke A; Wang, Di; Barton, Bruce

2015-12-01

Background.  The use of electronic hand hygiene reminder systems has been proposed as an approach to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, although information on efficacy is limited. We prospectively assessed whether hand hygiene activities among healthcare workers could be increased using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring and reminder system. Methods.  A prospective controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2 medical intensive care units (ICUs) at an academic medical center with comparable patient populations, healthcare staff, and physical layout. Hand hygiene activity was monitored concurrently in both ICUs, and the reminder system was installed in the test ICU. The reminder system was tested during 3 administered phases including: room entry/exit chimes, display of real-time hand hygiene activity, and a combination of the 2. Results.  In the test ICU, the mean number of hand hygiene events increased from 1538 per day at baseline to 1911 per day (24% increase) with the use of a combination of room entry/exit chimes, real-time displays of hand hygiene activity, and manager reports (P performance returned to baseline (1473 hand hygiene events per day) during the follow-up phase. There was no significant change in hand hygiene activity in the control ICU during the course of the trial. Conclusions.  In an ICU setting, an electronic hand hygiene reminder system that provided real-time feedback on overall unit-wide hand hygiene performance significantly increased hand hygiene activity.

Resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex following fear reminder predicts fear extinction

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Pan; Zheng, Yong

2016-01-01

Investigations of fear conditioning have elucidated the neural mechanisms of fear acquisition, consolidation and extinction, but it is not clear how the neural activation following fear reminder influence the following extinction. To address this question, we measured human brain activity following fear reminder using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, and investigated whether the extinction effect can be predicted by resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Behaviorally, we found no significant differences of fear ratings between the reminder group and the no reminder group at the fear acquisition and extinction stages, but spontaneous recovery during re-extinction stage appeared only in the no reminder group. Imaging data showed that functional connectivity between ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala in the reminder group was greater than that in the no reminder group after fear memory reactivation. More importantly, the functional connectivity between amygdala and vmPFC of the reminder group after fear memory reactivation was positively correlated with extinction effect. These results suggest RSFC between amygdala and the vmPFC following fear reminder can predict fear extinction, which provide important insight into the neural mechanisms of fear memory after fear memory reactivation. PMID:27013104

Towards "Precision Mining" of wastewater: Selective recovery of Cu from acid mine drainage onto diatomite supported nanoscale zerovalent iron particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Crane, R A; Sapsford, D J

2018-07-01

This paper introduces the concept of 'Precision Mining' of metals which can be defined as a process for the selective in situ uptake of a metal from a material or media, with subsequent retrieval and recovery of the target metal. In order to demonstrate this concept nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) was loaded onto diatomaceous earth (DE) and tested for the selective uptake of Cu from acid mine drainage (AMD) and subsequent release. Batch experiments were conducted using the AMD and nZVI-DE at 4.0-16.0 g/L. Results demonstrate nZVI-DE as highly selective for Cu removal with >99% uptake recorded after 0.25 h when using nZVI-DE concentrations ≥12.0 g/L, despite appreciable concentrations of numerous other metals in the AMD, namely: Co, Ni, Mn and Zn. Cu uptake was maintained in excess of 4 and 24 h when using nZVI-DE concentrations of 12.0 and 16.0 g/L respectively. Near-total Cu release from the nZVI-DE was then recorded and attributed to the depletion of the nZVI component and the subsequent Eh, DO and pH recovery. This novel Cu uptake and release mechanism, once appropriately engineered, holds great promise as a novel 'Precision Mining' process for the rapid and selective Cu recovery from acidic wastewater, process effluents and leach liquors. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

"Necesita una vacuna": what Spanish-speakers want in text-message immunization reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R; Chesser, Amy; Brannon, Jennifer; Lopez, Venessa; Shah-Haque, Sapna; Williams, Katherine; Hart, Traci

2013-08-01

Appointment reminders help parents deal with complex immunization schedules. Preferred content of text-message reminders has been identified for English-speakers. Spanish-speaking parents of children under three years old were recruited to develop Spanish text-message immunization reminders. Structured interviews included questions about demographic characteristics, use of technology, and willingness to receive text reminders. Each participant was assigned to one user-centered design (UCD) test: card sort, needs analysis or comprehension testing. Respondents (N=54) were female (70%) and averaged 27 years of age (SD=7). A card sort of 20 immunization-related statements resulted in identification of seven pieces of critical information, which were compiled into eight example texts. These texts were ranked in the needs assessment and the top two were assessed for comprehension. All participants were able to understand the content and describe intention to act. Utilizing UCD testing, Spanish-speakers identified short, specific text content that differed from preferred content of English-speaking parents.

Emotional contrast or compensation? How support reminders influence the pain of acute peer disapproval in preadolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomaes, Sander; Sedikides, Constantine; Reijntjes, Albert; Brummelman, Eddie; Bushman, Brad J

2015-10-01

When children experience habitual peer difficulties, adults often remind them that many people care about them. How do such reminders of support impact children's emotional responses to acute experiences of peer disapproval? Intuitively, support reminders would exert compensatory effects attenuating the emotional impact of acute disapproval. Theory suggests, however, that support reminders might also lead to contrast effects magnifying the emotional impact of acute disapproval, especially among socially vulnerable children. These opposing perspectives were pitted against each other. In 2 experiments, children (aged 9-13, M(age) = 11.5) were randomly assigned to reflect on their relationships with either supportive others (support condition) or mere acquaintances (control condition). Children experienced acute peer disapproval immediately after (Experiment 1) or before (Experiment 2) the manipulated support reminder. Among children who experienced higher levels of peer difficulties in their daily life, the support reminder increased externalized emotional reactivity and decreased internalized emotional recovery following disapproval. Thus, consistent with emotional contrast theory, support reminders magnified the disapproval-based emotional responses of socially vulnerable children. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

A randomized trial found online questionnaires supplemented by postal reminders generated a cost-effective and generalizable sample but don't forget the reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Loban, Amanda; Mandefield, Laura; Hind, Daniel; Bradburn, Mike

2017-12-01

The objective of this study was to compare the response rates, data completeness, and representativeness of survey data produced by online and postal surveys. A randomized trial nested within a cohort study in Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Participants were randomized to receive either an electronic (online) survey questionnaire with paper reminder (N = 2,982) or paper questionnaire with electronic reminder (N = 2,855). Response rates were similar for electronic contact and postal contacts (50.9% vs. 49.7%, difference = 1.2%, 95% confidence interval: -1.3% to 3.8%). The characteristics of those responding to the two groups were similar. Participants nevertheless demonstrated an overwhelming preference for postal questionnaires, with the majority responding by post in both groups. Online survey questionnaire systems need to be supplemented with a postal reminder to achieve acceptable uptake, but doing so provides a similar response rate and case mix when compared to postal questionnaires alone. For large surveys, online survey systems may be cost saving. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementation Intention and Reminder Effects on Behavior Change in a Mobile Health System: A Predictive Cognitive Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pirolli, Peter; Mohan, Shiwali; Venkatakrishnan, Anusha; Nelson, Les; Silva, Michael; Springer, Aaron

2017-11-30

Implementation intentions are mental representations of simple plans to translate goal intentions into behavior under specific conditions. Studies show implementation intentions can produce moderate to large improvements in behavioral goal achievement. Human associative memory mechanisms have been implicated in the processes by which implementation intentions produce effects. On the basis of the adaptive control of thought-rational (ACT-R) theory of cognition, we hypothesized that the strength of implementation intention effect could be manipulated in predictable ways using reminders delivered by a mobile health (mHealth) app. The aim of this experiment was to manipulate the effects of implementation intentions on daily behavioral goal success in ways predicted by the ACT-R theory concerning mHealth reminder scheduling. An incomplete factorial design was used in this mHealth study. All participants were asked to choose a healthy behavior goal associated with eat slowly, walking, or eating more vegetables and were asked to set implementation intentions. N=64 adult participants were in the study for 28 days. Participants were stratified by self-efficacy and assigned to one of two reminder conditions: reminders-presented versus reminders-absent. Self-efficacy and reminder conditions were crossed. Nested within the reminders-presented condition was a crossing of frequency of reminders sent (high, low) by distribution of reminders sent (distributed, massed). Participants in the low frequency condition got 7 reminders over 28 days; those in the high frequency condition were sent 14. Participants in the distributed conditions were sent reminders at uniform intervals. Participants in the massed distribution conditions were sent reminders in clusters. There was a significant overall effect of reminders on achieving a daily behavioral goal (coefficient=2.018, standard error [SE]=0.572, odds ratio [OR]=7.52, 95% CI 0.9037-3.2594, Pbehavioral goals. Computational cognitive

A rhodamine chromene-based turn-on fluorescence probe for selectively imaging Cu2+ in living cell

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei-Yong; Li, Hai-Ying; Lv, Hong-Shui; Zhao, Bao-Xiang; Miao, Jun-Ying

We describe the development of a rhodamine chromene-based turn-on fluorescence probe to monitor the intracellular Cu2+ level in living cells. The new fluorescent probe with a chlorine group in chromene moiety exhibits good membrane-permeable property than previous reported because the predicted lipophilicity of present probe 4 is stronger than that of methoxyl substituted probe in our previous work (CLogP of 4: 8.313, CLogP of methoxyl substituted probe: 7.706), and a fluorescence response toward Cu2+ under physiological conditions with high sensitivity and selectivity, and facilitates naked-eye detection of Cu2+. The fluorescence intensity was remarkably increased upon the addition of Cu2+ within 1 or 2 min, while the other sixteen metal ions caused no significant effect.

A Comparative Discussion of the Catalytic Activity and CO2-Selectivity of Cu-Zr and Pd-Zr (Intermetallic Compounds in Methanol Steam Reforming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Köpfle

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The activation and catalytic performance of two representative Zr-containing intermetallic systems, namely Cu-Zr and Pd-Zr, have been comparatively studied operando using methanol steam reforming (MSR as test reaction. Using an inverse surface science and bulk model catalyst approach, we monitored the transition of the initial metal/intermetallic compound structures into the eventual active and CO2-selective states upon contact to the methanol steam reforming mixture. For Cu-Zr, selected nominal stoichiometries ranging from Cu:Zr = 9:2 over 2:1 to 1:2 have been prepared by mixing the respective amounts of metallic Cu and Zr to yield different Cu-Zr bulk phases as initial catalyst structures. In addition, the methanol steam reforming performance of two Pd-Zr systems, that is, a bulk system with a nominal Pd:Zr = 2:1 stoichiometry and an inverse model system consisting of CVD-grown ZrOxHy layers on a polycrystalline Pd foil, has been comparatively assessed. While the CO2-selectivity and the overall catalytic performance of the Cu-Zr system is promising due to operando formation of a catalytically beneficial Cu-ZrO2 interface, the case for Pd-Zr is different. For both Pd-Zr systems, the low-temperature coking tendency, the high water-activation temperature and the CO2-selectivity spoiling inverse WGS reaction limit the use of the Pd-Zr systems for selective MSR applications, although alloying of Pd with Zr opens water activation channels to increase the CO2 selectivity.

Impact of second reminder invitation on uptake of screening and cancer detection in BreastCheck.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Fleming, P

2012-01-01

This research aims to quantify the impact of reminder invitations on uptake and cancer detection in Ireland. Examination of BreastCheck\\'s clinical database (2000-2010) to determine number of women screened following first invitation and after reminder; comparison by age group and screening phase with outcomes of recall rate, cancer detection and true positive rates. Of 819,182 first invitations sent 448,974 (54.8%) women attended. 245,157 (66.2%) women attended after reminder invitations, increasing uptake by 29.9% to 694,131 (84.7%) and cancers detected by 1,550 (35%). Women awaiting a reminder were less likely recalled for assessment 9,555 (3.9%) than respondents to first invitation 2,887 (4.04%) (p=0.004). Younger, mainly initial women were more likely recalled for assessment after first invitation. There was no difference between cohorts for cancer detection rate or true positive rate. Reminders increased uptake, supporting international evidence. For programme efficiency attendance at first invitation is optimal. For maximum programme effectiveness attendance must be encouraged with reminders.

A Prospective Controlled Trial of an Electronic Hand Hygiene Reminder System

Science.gov (United States)

Ellison, Richard T.; Barysauskas, Constance M.; Rundensteiner, Elke A.; Wang, Di; Barton, Bruce

2015-01-01

Background. The use of electronic hand hygiene reminder systems has been proposed as an approach to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, although information on efficacy is limited. We prospectively assessed whether hand hygiene activities among healthcare workers could be increased using an electronic hand hygiene monitoring and reminder system. Methods. A prospective controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2 medical intensive care units (ICUs) at an academic medical center with comparable patient populations, healthcare staff, and physical layout. Hand hygiene activity was monitored concurrently in both ICUs, and the reminder system was installed in the test ICU. The reminder system was tested during 3 administered phases including: room entry/exit chimes, display of real-time hand hygiene activity, and a combination of the 2. Results. In the test ICU, the mean number of hand hygiene events increased from 1538 per day at baseline to 1911 per day (24% increase) with the use of a combination of room entry/exit chimes, real-time displays of hand hygiene activity, and manager reports (P hand hygiene to room entry/exit events also increased from 26.1% to 36.6% (40% increase, P hand hygiene events per day) during the follow-up phase. There was no significant change in hand hygiene activity in the control ICU during the course of the trial. Conclusions. In an ICU setting, an electronic hand hygiene reminder system that provided real-time feedback on overall unit-wide hand hygiene performance significantly increased hand hygiene activity. PMID:26430698

Vaccination against seasonal influenza: a reminder

CERN Document Server

GS Department

2011-01-01

At this time every year the Medical Service suggests that you should get vaccinated against seasonal flu. We would like to remind you that vaccination is the best method of protecting yourself and others against this contagious illness which can have serious consequences for certain people, especially those suffering from chronic medical conditions (e.g. chronic pulmonary, cardiovascular or kidney disease or diabetes), pregnant women, people suffering from obesity (BMI>30) and those over 65. As the Medical Service does not supply the vaccine, you must purchase it from a pharmacy (in France without the need for a prescription). From the beginning of October you can then bring your vaccine to the Infirmary (Building 57-Ground floor) and get vaccinated without an appointment between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For the purposes of health insurance reimbursement, you can get a prescription from the Medical Service either on the day of the injection or beforehand. Reminder: The Medical Se...

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Sionnadh Mairi; Booth, Andrew; Gee, Melanie; Salway, Sarah; Cobb, Mark; Bhanbhro, Sadiq; Nancarrow, Susan A

2016-01-01

Missed appointments are an avoidable cost and resource inefficiency which impact upon the health of the patient and treatment outcomes. Health care services are increasingly utilizing reminder systems to manage these negative effects. This study explores the effectiveness of reminder systems for promoting attendance, cancellations, and rescheduling of appointments across all health care settings and for particular patient groups and the contextual factors which indicate that reminders are being employed sub-optimally. We used three inter-related reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Firstly, using pre-existing models and theories, we developed a conceptual framework to inform our understanding of the contexts and mechanisms which influence reminder effectiveness. Secondly, we performed a review following Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of reminding patients to attend health service appointments. Finally, to supplement the effectiveness information, we completed a review informed by realist principles to identify factors likely to influence non-attendance behaviors and the effectiveness of reminders. We found consistent evidence that all types of reminder systems are effective at improving appointment attendance across a range of health care settings and patient populations. Reminder systems may also increase cancellation and rescheduling of unwanted appointments. "Reminder plus", which provides additional information beyond the reminder function may be more effective than simple reminders (ie, date, time, place) at reducing non-attendance at appointments in particular circumstances. We identified six areas of inefficiency which indicate that reminder systems are being used sub-optimally. Unless otherwise indicated, all patients should receive a reminder to facilitate attendance at their health care appointment. The choice of reminder system should be tailored to the individual service

Walking economy during cued versus non-cued self-selected treadmill walking in persons with Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallo, Paul M; McIsaac, Tara L; Garber, Carol Ewing

2014-01-01

Gait impairments related to Parkinson's disease (PD) include variable step length and decreased walking velocity, which may result in poorer walking economy. Auditory cueing is a common method used to improve gait mechanics in PD that has been shown to worsen walking economy at set treadmill walking speeds. It is unknown if auditory cueing has the same effects on walking economy at self-selected treadmill walking speeds. To determine if auditory cueing will affect walking economy at self-selected treadmill walking speeds and at speeds slightly faster and slower than self-selected. Twenty-two participants with moderate PD performed three, 6-minute bouts of treadmill walking at three speeds (self-selected and ± 0.22 m·sec-1). One session used cueing and the other without cueing. Energy expenditure was measured and walking economy was calculated (energy expenditure/power). Poorer walking economy and higher energy expenditure occurred during cued walking at a self-selected and a slightly faster walking speed, but there was no apparent difference at the slightly slower speed. These results suggest that potential gait benefits of auditory cueing may come at an energy cost and poorer walking economy for persons with PD at least at some treadmill walking speeds.

A Cu2+-selective fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY with two pyridine ligands and logic gate

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Liuqian; Zhang, Jing; Yu, Xiaoxiu; Ma, Yifan; Huang, Tianjiao; Shen, Xi; Qiu, Huayu; He, Xingxing; Yin, Shouchun

2015-06-01

A novel near-infrared fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY (Py-1) has been synthesized and characterized. Py-1 displays high selectivity and sensitivity for sensing Cu2+ over other metal ions in acetonitrile. Upon addition of Cu2+ ions, the maximum absorption band of Py-1 in CH3CN displays a red shift from 603 to 608 nm, which results in a visual color change from pink to blue. When Py-1 is excited at 600 nm in the presence of Cu2+, the fluorescent emission intensity of Py-1 at 617 nm is quenched over 86%. Notably, the complex of Py-1-Cu2+ can be restored with the introduction of EDTA or S2-. Consequently, an IMPLICATION logic gate at molecular level operating in fluorescence mode with Cu2+ and S2- as chemical inputs can be constructed. Finally, based on the reversible and reproducible system, a nanoscale sequential memory unit displaying "Writing-Reading-Erasing-Reading" functions can be integrated.

Normative data for the Rappel libre/Rappel indicé à 16 items (16-item Free and Cued Recall) in the elderly Quebec-French population.

Science.gov (United States)

Dion, Mélissa; Potvin, Olivier; Belleville, Sylvie; Ferland, Guylaine; Renaud, Mélanie; Bherer, Louis; Joubert, Sven; Vallet, Guillaume T; Simard, Martine; Rouleau, Isabelle; Lecomte, Sarah; Macoir, Joël; Hudon, Carol

2015-01-01

Performance on verbal memory tests is generally associated with socio-demographic variables such as age, sex, and education level. Performance also varies between different cultural groups. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the Rappel libre/Rappel indicé à 16 items (16-item Free and Cued Recall; RL/RI-16), a French adaptation of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (Buschke, 1984; Grober, Buschke, Crystal, Bang, & Dresner, 1988). The sample consisted of 566 healthy French-speaking older adults (50-88 years old) from the province of Quebec, Canada. Normative data for the RL/RI-16 were derived from 80% of the total sample (normative sample) and cross-validated using the remaining participants (20%; validation sample). The effects of participants' age, sex, and education level were assessed on different indices of memory performance. Results indicated that these variables were independently associated with performance. Normative data are presented as regression equations with standard deviations (symmetric distributions) and percentiles (asymmetric distributions).

Local Environment and Nature of Cu Active Sites in Zeolite-Based Catalysts for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deka, U.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/325811202; Lezcano-Gonzalez, I.; Weckhuysen, B.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/285484397; Beale, A.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/325802068

2013-01-01

Cu-exchanged zeolites have demonstrated widespread use as catalyst materials in the abatement of NOx, especially from mobile sources. Recent studies focusing on Cu-exchanged zeolites with the CHA structure have demonstrated them to be excellent catalysts in the ammonia-assisted selective catalytic

Improved Resident Adherence to AAA Screening Guidelines via an Electronic Reminder.

Science.gov (United States)

Sypert, David; Van Dyke, Kenneth; Dhillon, Namrata; Elliott, John O; Jordan, Kim

The 2014 United States Preventive Services Task Force systematic review found abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening decreased related mortality by close to half. Despite the simplicity of screening, research suggests poor adherence to the recommended AAA screening guidelines. Using the quality improvement plan-study-do-act cycle, we retrospectively established poor adherence to AAA screening and poor documentation of smoking history in our resident clinic. An electronic reminder was prospectively implemented into our electronic medical record (EMR) with the goal of improving screening rates. After 1 year, a retrospective chart review was conducted. Comparisons of the pre- and post-electronic reminder intervention data were made using chi-square tests and odds ratios (OR). The purposeful AAA screening rate improved 27.8% during the intervention, 40.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 28.6-52.0%) versus 12.5% (95% CI: 3.1-21.9%), p = .002, suggesting patients were more likely to be screened as a result of the electronic reminder, OR = 4.73 (95% CI: 1.77-12.65). This improvement translates to a large effect size, Cohen's d = 0.86 (95% CI: 0.31-1.40). Electronic reminders are a simple EMR addition that can provide evidence-based education while improving adherence rates with preventive health screening measures.

Fabrication and heat treatment of high strength Al-Cu-Mg alloy processed using selective laser melting

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hu; Zhu, Haihong; Nie, Xiaojia; Qi, Ting; Hu, Zhiheng; Zeng, Xiaoyan

2016-04-01

The proposed paper illustrates the fabrication and heat treatment of high strength Al-Cu-Mg alloy produced by selective laser melting (SLM) process. Al-Cu-Mg alloy is one of the heat treatable aluminum alloys regarded as difficult to fusion weld. SLM is an additive manufacturing technique through which components are built by selectively melting powder layers with a focused laser beam. The process is characterized by short laser-powder interaction times and localized high heat input, which leads to steep thermal gradients, rapid solidification and fast cooling. In this research, 3D Al-Cu-Mg parts with relative high density of 99.8% are produced by SLM from gas atomized powders. Room temperature tensile tests reveal a remarkable mechanical behavior: the samples show yield and tensile strengths of about 276 MPa and 402 MPa, respectively, along with fracture strain of 6%. The effect of solution treatment on microstructure and related tensile properties is examined and the results demonstrate that the mechanical behavior of the SLMed Al-Cu-Mg samples can be greatly enhanced through proper heat treatment. After T4 solution treatment at 540°C, under the effect of precipitation strengthening, the tensile strength and the yield strength increase to 532 MPa and 338 MPa, respectively, and the elongation increases to 13%.

Coumarin–pyrene conjugate: Synthesis, structure and Cu-selective fluorescent sensing in mammalian kidney cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wani, Manzoor Ahmad [Department of Chemistry, Dr. H. S. Gour Central University Sagar, MP 470003 (India); Singh, Pankaj Kumar [Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur 208016 (India); Pandey, Rampal, E-mail: rpvimlesh@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, Dr. H. S. Gour Central University Sagar, MP 470003 (India); Pandey, Mrituanjay D., E-mail: mdpandey@dhsgsu.ac.in [Department of Chemistry, Dr. H. S. Gour Central University Sagar, MP 470003 (India)

2016-03-15

In this work, we report a coumarin–pyrene based fluorescent probes (E)-7-(diethylamino)-3-((pyren-1-ylimino)methyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (1) and (E)-7-(diethylamino)-3-((pyren-1-ylmethylimino)methyl)-2H-chromen-2-one (2) for the selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} ion. Receptor 1 upon binding with Cu{sup 2+} exhibited substantial fluorescence quenching as a detection response. Probe 1 induces green fluorescence in a cell lines derived from monkey kidney tissue and subsequent quenching of fluorescence in these cells manifest that 1 can probably be used as a potential fluorescent sensor for the detection of Cu{sup 2+} in biological samples too. However, 2 does not reveal any significant fluorescence change in presence of different metal ions. It is assumed that conjugation might be accountable for the discrete fluorescent behavior of 1 and 2.

Development of Fluorescent Turn-On Sensor for Selective Detection of Cu{sup 2+} in Aqueous Solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, XiaoLiang; He, Yongwu; Ahn, Kyungil; Yang, Sung Ik [Kyung Hee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2013-06-15

Cu{sup 2+} is one of the most essential metal ions in biological systems, since it plays an important role in numerous biological processes and can induce various disorders, including some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzhemer's, Prion, and Parkinson's diseases. In conclusion, we have developed a novel chemodosimeter for RhMS by covalent coupling of rhodamine with meso-porous SiO{sub 2} and characterized as a fluorescent sensor for Cu{sup 2+}. The RhMS showed a high sensitivity and selectivity toward the Cu{sup 2+} ions over other metal ions in an aqueous solution. Upon addition of the Cu{sup 2+}, the RhMS underwent a hydrolysis reaction and ring opening process, which increased the fluorescence intensity by a factor of 1,000 and changed the color from colorless to pink.

SMS-reminder for vaccination in Africa: research from published, unpublished and grey literature.

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Manakongtreecheep, Kasidet

2017-01-01

Immunization for children against vaccine-preventable diseases is one of the most important health intervention method in the world, both in terms of its health impact and cost-effectiveness. Through EPI and various other programs such as the Decades of Vaccines, immunization has been improving the health of children around the world. However, this progress falls short of global immunization targets of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP). Furthermore, the African region still lags behind in immunization, and suffers from a high proportion of vaccine preventable diseases as a result. Reminders and recall for vaccination have been shown to improve health care-seeking behaviours, and have been recommended for application in routine and supplemental measles immunization activities. With mobile phones becoming more accessible in Africa, SMS vaccine reminder system has been proposed as a convenient and easily scalable way to inform caregivers of the disease and the importance of immunization, to address any concerns related to immunization safety, and to remind them of vaccination schedules and campaigns. There have been 6 published articles and 1 unpublished article on the effect of SMS reminder system for immunization in Africa. The studies done has shown that SMS vaccination reminder has led to improvements in vaccination uptakes in various metrics, whether is through the increase in vaccination coverage, decrease in dropout rates, increase in completion rate, or decrease in delay for vaccination.

A novel piperazine-bis(rhodamine-B)-based chemosensor for highly sensitive and selective naked-eye detection of Cu{sup 2+} and its application as an INHIBIT logic device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Zebin; Li, Haizhen; Guo, Dan; Liu, Yan; Tian, Zhang; Yan, Shiqiang, E-mail: yansq@lzu.edu.cn

2015-11-15

Abstact: We report the design and synthesis of a new piperazine-bis(rhodamine-B) (RB-P-RB)-based indicator for selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} ion. Optical sensing behavior toward various metal ions including alkali, alkaline earth and transition metal ions (Na{sup +}, K{sup +}, Ba{sup 2+}, Mg{sup 2+}, Ca{sup 2+}, Zn{sup 2+}, Cd{sup 2+}, Mn{sup 2+}, Co{sup 2+}, Ni{sup 2+}, Pb{sup 2+}, Cu{sup 2+}, Hg{sup 2+}, and Ag{sup +}) were investigated by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy in ethassnol solution. The indicator showed highly selective and sensitive colorimetric and “turn-on” fluorescence enhancement responses toward Cu{sup 2+} ion owing to the ring-opening structure of the rhodamine spirolactam. The significant change from colorless to pink upon the addition of Cu{sup 2+} could make it a suitable “naked-eye” indicator for Cu{sup 2+}. Furthermore, a possible ring-opening mechanism (off-on) of the rhodamine spirolactam induced by Cu{sup 2+} binding is supported by Job plot, ESI-mass, FT-IR, and {sup 1}H NMR. More significantly, the probe displayed highly selective Cu{sup 2+}-amplified absorption in the presence of Cu{sup 2+} ions. Finally, using Cu{sup 2+} and EDTA as inputs and the fluorescence emission intensity as output, an INHIBIT logic gate can be constructed at the molecular level. - Highlights: • A novel piperazine-bis(rhodamine-B)-based sensor for selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} ion was synthesized via simple synthetic procedures. • The probe exhibited highly selective and sensitive colorimetric and “turn on” fluorescence enhancement responses to Cu{sup 2+}. • The probe can serve as a reversible and selective “naked eye” indicator for Cu{sup 2+} ions in ethanol solution. • The probe can be utilized to construct an INHIBIT logic gate at the molecular level. • The probe displays highly selective Cu{sup 2+}-amplified absorption in ethanol solution.

Toxicity assessment and selective leaching characteristics of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys in biomaterials applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Shih-Hang; Chen, Bor-Yann; Lin, Jin-Xiang

2016-04-06

Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys (SMAs) possess two-way shape memory effects, superelasticity, and damping capacity. Nonetheless, Cu-Al-Ni SMAs remain promising candidates for use in biomedical applications, as they are more economical and machinable than other SMAs. Ensuring the biocompatibility of Cu-Al-Ni SMAs is crucial to their development for biomedical applications. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the toxicity of Cu-Al-Ni SMAs using a Probit dose-response model and augmented simplex design. In this study, the effects of Cu2+, Al3+ and Ni2+ metal ions on bacteria (Escherichia coli DH5α) using Probit dose-response analysis and augmented simplex design to assess the actual toxicity of the Cu-Al-Ni SMAs. Extraction and repetition of Escherichia coli DH5α solutions with high Cu2+ ion concentrations and 30-hour incubation demonstrated that Escherichia coli DH5α was able to alter its growth mechanisms in response to toxins. Metal ions leached from Cu-Al-Ni SMAs appeared in a multitude of compositions with varying degrees of toxicity, and those appearing close to a saddle region identified in the contour plot of the augmented simplex model were identified as candidates for elevated toxicity levels. When the Cu-13.5Al-4Ni SMA plate was immersed in Ringer's solution, the selective leaching rate of Ni2+ ions far exceeded that of Cu2+ and Al3+. The number of Cu2+, Al3+ and Ni2+ ions leached from Cu-Al-Ni SMAs increased with immersion time; however, at higher ratios, toxicity interactions among the metal ions had the effect of gradually reducing overall toxicity levels with regard to Escherichia coli DH5α. The quantities of Cu2+, Al3+ and Ni2+ ions leached from the Cu-13.5Al-4Ni SMA plate increased with immersion time, the toxicity interactions associated with these compositions reduced the actual toxicity to Escherichia coli DH5α.

Morphological and Compositional Design of Pd-Cu Bimetallic Nanocatalysts with Controllable Product Selectivity toward CO2 Electroreduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Wenjin; Zhang, Lei; Yang, Piaoping; Chang, Xiaoxia; Dong, Hao; Li, Ang; Hu, Congling; Huang, Zhiqi; Zhao, Zhi-Jian; Gong, Jinlong

2018-02-01

Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide) to value-added products is a promising way to solve CO 2 emission problems. This paper describes a facile one-pot approach to synthesize palladium-copper (Pd-Cu) bimetallic catalysts with different structures. Highly efficient performance and tunable product distributions are achieved due to a coordinative function of both enriched low-coordinated sites and composition effects. The concave rhombic dodecahedral Cu 3 Pd (CRD-Cu 3 Pd) decreases the onset potential for methane (CH 4 ) by 200 mV and shows a sevenfold CH 4 current density at -1.2 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) compared to Cu foil. The flower-like Pd 3 Cu (FL-Pd 3 Cu) exhibits high faradaic efficiency toward CO in a wide potential range from -0.7 to -1.3 V, and reaches a fourfold CO current density at -1.3 V compared to commercial Pd black. Tafel plots and density functional theory calculations suggest that both the introduction of high-index facets and alloying contribute to the enhanced CH 4 current of CRD-Cu 3 Pd, while the alloy effect is responsible for high CO selectivity of FL-Pd 3 Cu. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Selective Iron(III ion uptake using CuO-TiO2 nanostructure by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

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Rahman Mohammed M

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background CuO-TiO2 nanosheets (NSs, a kind of nanomaterials is one of the most attracting class of transition doped semiconductor materials due to its interesting and important optical, electrical, and structural properties and has many technical applications, such as in metal ions detection, photocatalysis, Chemi-sensors, bio-sensors, solar cells and so on. In this paper the synthesis of CuO-TiO2 nanosheets by the wet-chemically technique is reported. Methods CuO-TiO2 NSs were prepared by a wet-chemical process using reducing agents in alkaline medium and characterized by UV/vis., FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM etc. Results The structural and optical evaluation of synthesized NSs were measured by XRD pattern, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR and UV–vis spectroscopy, respectively which confirmed that the obtained NSs are well-crystalline CuO-TiO2 and possessing good optical properties. The morphological analysis of CuO-TiO2 NSs was executed by FE-SEM, which confirmed that the doped products were sheet-shaped and growth in large quantity. Here, the analytical efficiency of the NSs was applied for a selective adsorption of iron(III ion prior to detection by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES. The selectivity of NSs towards various metal ions, including Au(III, Cd(II, Co(II, Cr(III, Fe(III, Pd(II, and Zn(II was analyzed. Conclusions Based on the selectivity study, it was confirmed that the selectivity of doped NSs phase was the most towards Fe(III ion. The static adsorption capacity for Fe(III was calculated to be 110.06 mgg−1. Results from adsorption isotherm also verified that the adsorption process was mainly monolayer-adsorption onto a surface containing a finite number of CuO-TiO2 NSs adsorption sites.

Interfacial Reaction of Sn-Ag-Cu Lead-Free Solder Alloy on Cu: A Review

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Liu Mei Lee

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the function and importance of Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys in electronics industry and the interfacial reaction of Sn-Ag-Cu/Cu solder joint at various solder forms and solder reflow conditions. The Sn-Ag-Cu solder alloys are examined in bulk and in thin film. It then examines the effect of soldering conditions to the formation of intermetallic compounds such as Cu substrate selection, structural phases, morphology evolution, the growth kinetics, temperature and time is also discussed. Sn-Ag-Cu lead-free solder alloys are the most promising candidate for the replacement of Sn-Pb solders in modern microelectronic technology. Sn-Ag-Cu solders could possibly be considered and adapted in miniaturization technologies. Therefore, this paper should be of great interest to a large selection of electronics interconnect materials, reliability, processes, and assembly community.

Anticipating divine protection? Reminders of god can increase nonmoral risk taking.

Science.gov (United States)

Kupor, Daniella M; Laurin, Kristin; Levav, Jonathan

2015-04-01

Religiosity and participation in religious activities have been linked with decreased risky behavior. In the current research, we hypothesized that exposure to the concept of God can actually increase people's willingness to engage in certain types of risks. Across seven studies, reminders of God increased risk taking in nonmoral domains. This effect was mediated by the perceived danger of a risky option and emerged more strongly among individuals who perceive God as a reliable source of safety and protection than among those who do not. Moreover, in an eighth study, when participants were first reminded of God and then took a risk that produced negative consequences (i.e., when divine protection failed to materialize), participants reported feeling more negatively toward God than did participants in the same situation who were not first reminded of God. This research contributes to an understanding of the divergent effects that distinct components of religion can exert on behavior. © The Author(s) 2015.

Redesign of a computerized clinical reminder for colorectal cancer screening: a human-computer interaction evaluation

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Saleem Jason J

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Based on barriers to the use of computerized clinical decision support (CDS learned in an earlier field study, we prototyped design enhancements to the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's colorectal cancer (CRC screening clinical reminder to compare against the VHA's current CRC reminder. Methods In a controlled simulation experiment, 12 primary care providers (PCPs used prototypes of the current and redesigned CRC screening reminder in a within-subject comparison. Quantitative measurements were based on a usability survey, workload assessment instrument, and workflow integration survey. We also collected qualitative data on both designs. Results Design enhancements to the VHA's existing CRC screening clinical reminder positively impacted aspects of usability and workflow integration but not workload. The qualitative analysis revealed broad support across participants for the design enhancements with specific suggestions for improving the reminder further. Conclusions This study demonstrates the value of a human-computer interaction evaluation in informing the redesign of information tools to foster uptake, integration into workflow, and use in clinical practice.

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles

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McLean SM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Sionnadh Mairi McLean,1 Andrew Booth,2 Melanie Gee,3 Sarah Salway,2 Mark Cobb,4 Sadiq Bhanbhro,3 Susan A Nancarrow5 1Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK; 2School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; 3Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK; 4Therapeutics & Palliative Care, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK; 5School of Health and Human Science, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW, Australia Abstract: Missed appointments are an avoidable cost and resource inefficiency which impact upon the health of the patient and treatment outcomes. Health care services are increasingly utilizing reminder systems to manage these negative effects. This study explores the effectiveness of reminder systems for promoting attendance, cancellations, and rescheduling of appointments across all health care settings and for particular patient groups and the contextual factors which indicate that reminders are being employed sub-optimally. We used three inter-related reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Firstly, using pre-existing models and theories, we developed a conceptual framework to inform our understanding of the contexts and mechanisms which influence reminder effectiveness. Secondly, we performed a review following Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of reminding patients to attend health service appointments. Finally, to supplement the effectiveness information, we completed a review informed by realist principles to identify factors likely to influence non-attendance behaviors and the effectiveness of reminders. We found consistent evidence that all types of reminder systems are effective at improving appointment attendance across a range of health care settings and patient populations. Reminder systems may also increase cancellation and

Building Selectivity for NO Sensing in a NOx Mixture with Sonochemically Prepared CuO Structures

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Max R. Mullen

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Several technologies are available for decreasing nitrogen oxide (NOx emissions from combustion sources, including selective catalytic reduction methods. In this process, ammonia reacts with nitric oxide (NO and nitrogen dioxide (NO2. As the stoichiometry of the two reactions is different, electrochemical sensor systems that can distinguish between NO and NO2 in a mixture of these two gases are of interest. Since NO and NO2 can be brought to equilibrium, depending on the temperature and the surfaces that they are in contact with, the detection of NO and NO2 independently is a difficult problem and has not been solved to date. In this study, we explore a high surface area sonochemically prepared CuO as the resistive sensing medium. CuO is a poor catalyst for NOx equilibration, and requires temperatures of 500 C to bring about equilibration. Thus, at 300 C, NO and NO2 retain their levels after interaction with CuO surface. In addition, NO adsorbs more strongly on the CuO over NO2. Using these two concepts, we can detect NO with minimal interference from NO2, if the latter gas concentration does not exceed 20% in a NOx mixture over a range of 100–800 ppm. Since this range constitutes most of the range of total NOx concentrations in diesel and other lean burn engines, this sensor should find application in selective detection of NO in this combustion application. A limitation of this sensor is the interference with CO, but with combustion in excess air, this problem should be alleviated.

Highly sensitive and selective fluorescent assay for guanine based on the Cu2 +/eosin Y system

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Huimin; Cui, Yi; Gong, Yijun; Feng, Suling

2016-05-01

A fluorescent probe has been developed for the determination of guanine based on the quenched fluorescence signal of Cu2 +/eosin Y. Cu2 + interacted with eosin Y, resulting in fluorescence quenching. Subsequently, with the addition of guanine to the Cu2 +/eosin Y system, guanine reacted with Cu2 + to form 1:1 chelate cation, which further combined with eosin Y to form a 1:1 ternary ion-association complex by electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic interaction, resulting in significant decrease of the fluorescence. Hence, a fluorescent system was constructed for rapid, sensitive and selective detection of guanine with a detection limit as low as 1.5 nmol L- 1 and a linear range of 3.3-116 nmol L- 1. The method has been applied satisfactorily to the determination of guanine in DNA and urine samples with the recoveries from 98.7% to 105%. This study significantly expands the realm of application of ternary ion-association complex in fluorescence probe.

Fabrication of friction-reducing texture surface by selective laser melting of ink-printed (SLM-IP) copper (Cu) nanoparticles(NPs)

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xinjian; Liu, Junyan; Wang, Yang; Fu, Yanan

2017-02-01

This paper reports a process of selective laser melting of ink-printed (SLM-IP) copper (Cu) nanoparticles(NPs) for the fabrication of full dense Cu friction-reducing texture on the metallic surface in ambient condition. This technique synthesizes pure Cu by chemical reduction route using an organic solvent during laser melting in the atmosphere environment, and provides a flexible additive manufacture approach to form complex friction-reduction texture on the metallic surface. Microtextures of ring and disc arrays have been fabricated on the stainless steel surface by SLM-IP Cu NPs. The friction coefficient has been measured under the lubricating condition of the oil. Disc texture surface (DTS) has a relatively low friction coefficient compared with ring texture surface (RTS), Cu film surface (Cu-FS) and the untreated substrate. The study suggests a further research on SLM-IP approach for complex microstructure or texture manufacturing, possibly realizing its advantage of flexibility.

Sensitive and selective determination of Cu2+ at D-penicillamine functionalized nano-cellulose modified pencil graphite electrode

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Taheri, M.; Ahour, F.; Keshipour, S.

2018-06-01

A novel electrochemical sensor based on D-penicillamine anchored nano-cellulose (DPA-NC) modified pencil graphite electrode was fabricated and used for highly selective and sensitive determination of copper (II) ions in the picomolar concentration by square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric (SWV) method. The modified electrode showed better and increased SWV response compared to the bare and NC modified electrodes which may be related to the porous structure of modifier along with formation of complex between Cu2+ ions and nitrogen or oxygen containing groups in DPA-NC. Optimization of various experimental parameters influence the performance of the sensor, were investigated. Under optimized condition, DPA-NC modified electrode was used for the analysis of Cu2+ in the concentration range from 0.2 to 50 pM, and a lower detection limit of 0.048 pM with good stability, repeatability, and selectivity. Finally, the practical applicability of DPA-NC-PGE was confirmed via measuring trace amount of Cu (II) in tap and river water samples.

Study on a highly selective fluorescent chemosensor for Cu{sup 2+} and its direct sensing for proton based on 1,3,4-oxadiazole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Ling [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130024 (China); Gu, Caiying [Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); He, Yi [College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130024 (China); Wang, Guang, E-mail: wangg923@nenu.edu.cn [Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China)

2014-09-15

A photoinduced electron transfer cation sensor, oxadiazole-bridge-bis(N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine), was designed and prepared. This sensor displayed an “off–on–off” fluorescent switch for proton and an “on–off” fluorescent switch for Cu{sup 2+}. The fluorescence emission of the sensor was quenched upon addition of Cu{sup 2+} and proton in CH{sub 3}CN/H{sub 2}O solution (v/v, 4:1) due to electron transfer between the N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and the oxadiazole. The sensor presented high selectivity for Cu{sup 2+} over other metal ions and determined Cu{sup 2+} concentration in a linear fashion from 5×10{sup −7} M to 8×10{sup −5} M. Stern–Volmer analysis showed the binding stoichiometry to be 1:2 (host-guest) with a binding constant of 1.8×10{sup 10} M{sup −2}, calculated using the Benesi–Hilderbrand equation. The response of the sensor to Cu{sup 2+} was instantaneous and reversible, and the usual anions did not influence the selectivity for Cu{sup 2+}. - Highlights: • A new fluorescent sensor based on oxadiazole and N,N-bis-(2-pyridylmethyl)amine was designed. • The sensor displayed sensitive fluorescence response “on–off” to Cu{sup 2+} and “on–off–on” for protons. • Fluorescence intensity showed good linear correlation with Cu{sup 2+} concentration from 5×10{sup −7} M to 8×10{sup −5} M. • The high concentration of metal ions and usual anions did not influence the selectivity for Cu{sup 2+}. • The short response time of the sensor for Cu{sup 2+} (within 20 s) meets practical requirements.

Diatomite-supported Pd-M (M=Cu, Co, Ni) bimetal nanocatalysts for selective hydrogenation of long-chain aliphatic esters.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Changliang; Zhang, Hongye; Zhao, Yanfei; Chen, Sha; Liu, Zhimin

2012-11-15

Diatomite supported Pd-M (M=Cu, Co, Ni) bimetal nanocatalysts with various metal compositions were prepared and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that the metal nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the support, and their size was centered around 8 nm with a relatively narrow size distribution. The catalysts were used to catalyze hydrogenation of long-chain aliphatic esters, including methyl palmitate, methyl stearate, and methyl laurate. It was indicated that the all diatomite-supported Pd-based bimetal catalysts were active to the selective hydrogenation of long-chain esters to corresponding alcohols at 270°C, originated from the synergistic effect between the metal particles and the diatomite support. For the selective hydrogenation of methyl palmitate, Pd-Cu/diatomite with metal loading of 1% and Pd/Cu=3 displayed the highest performance, giving a 1-hexadecanol yield of 82.9% at the substrate conversion of 98.8%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measuring agreement between decision support reminders: the cloud vs. the local expert

OpenAIRE

Dixon, Brian Edward; Simonaitis, Linas; Perkins, Susan M; Wright, Adam; Middleton, Blackford

2014-01-01

Background: A cloud-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) was implemented to remotely provide evidence-based guideline reminders in support of preventative health. Following implementation, we measured the agreement between preventive care reminders generated by an existing, local CDSS and the new, cloud-based CDSS operating on the same patient visit data. Methods: Electronic health record data for the same set of patients seen in primary care were sent to both the cloud-based web ser...

Robust and Selective Switching of an FeIII Spin-Crossover Compound on Cu2N/Cu(100) with Memristance Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Jasper-Toennies, Torben; Gruber, Manuel; Karan, Sujoy; Jacob, Hanne; Tuczek, Felix; Berndt, Richard

2017-11-08

The switching between two spin states makes spin-crossover molecules on surfaces very attractive for potential applications in molecular spintronics. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, the successful deposition of [Fe(pap) 2 ] + (pap = N-2-pyridylmethylidene-2-hydroxyphenylaminato) molecules on Cu 2 N/Cu(100) surface is evidenced. The deposited Fe III spin-crossover compound is controllably switched between three different states, each of them exhibiting a characteristic tunneling conductance. The conductance is therefore employed to readily read the state of the molecules. A comparison of the experimental data with the results of density functional theory calculations reveals that all Fe(pap) 2 molecules are initially in their high-spin state. The two other states are compatible with the low-spin state of the molecule but differ with respect to their coupling to the substrate. As a proof of concept, the reversible and selective nature of the switching is used to build a two-molecule memory.

Improving Rates of Post-Essure Hysterosalpingography in an Urban Population Using Electronic Tracking Reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Virginia Hu, Yu-Han; Arora, Kavita Shah

2017-02-01

To demonstrate the efficacy of electronic reminders for follow-up hysterosalpingography (HSG) after Essure hysteroscopic sterilization in an urban tertiary care hospital obstetrics and gynecology practice. Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). Obstetrics and gynecology practice at a university-affiliated urban tertiary care teaching hospital. Two hundred and fifty patients who underwent Essure hysteroscopic sterilization between June 2011 and July 2014. Implementation of electronic reminders for the office staff. Two hundred and fifty of 259 patients (96.5%) underwent Essure hysteroscopic sterilization and successful placement of coils into bilateral Fallopian tubes. Among these 250 patients, 135 (54%) returned for HSG at 3 months post-Essure as advised at the time of procedure. The use of electronic reminders prompted another 45 patients (18%) to return for HSG, improving the total post-Essure follow-up rate to 72%. Electronic reminders for the office staff of an urban tertiary care hospital's obstetrics and gynecology practice is an effective method for improving the rate of post-Essure HSG. Copyright © 2016 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Forgetting, reminding, and remembering: the retrieval of lost spatial memory.

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Livia de Hoz

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Retrograde amnesia can occur after brain damage because this disrupts sites of storage, interrupts memory consolidation, or interferes with memory retrieval. While the retrieval failure account has been considered in several animal studies, recent work has focused mainly on memory consolidation, and the neural mechanisms responsible for reactivating memory from stored traces remain poorly understood. We now describe a new retrieval phenomenon in which rats' memory for a spatial location in a watermaze was first weakened by partial lesions of the hippocampus to a level at which it could not be detected. The animals were then reminded by the provision of incomplete and potentially misleading information-an escape platform in a novel location. Paradoxically, both incorrect and correct place information reactivated dormant memory traces equally, such that the previously trained spatial memory was now expressed. It was also established that the reminding procedure could not itself generate new learning in either the original environment, or in a new training situation. The key finding is the development of a protocol that definitively distinguishes reminding from new place learning and thereby reveals that a failure of memory during watermaze testing can arise, at least in part, from a disruption of memory retrieval.

Selective C–C Coupling Reaction of Dimethylphenol to Tetramethyldiphenoquinone Using Molecular Oxygen Catalyzed by Cu Complexes Immobilized in Nanospaces of Structurally-Ordered Materials

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Zen Maeno

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Two high-performance Cu catalysts were successfully developed by immobilization of Cu ions in the nanospaces of poly(propylene imine (PPI dendrimer and magadiite for the selective C–C coupling of 2,6-dimethylphenol (DMP to 3,3',5,5'-tetramethyldiphenoquinone (DPQ with O2 as a green oxidant. The PPI dendrimer encapsulated Cu ions in the internal nanovoids to form adjacent Cu species, which exhibited significantly high catalytic activity for the regioselective coupling reaction of DMP compared to previously reported enzyme and metal complex catalysts. The magadiite-immobilized Cu complex acted as a selective heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidative C–C coupling of DMP to DPQ. This heterogeneous catalyst was recoverable from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, reusable without loss of efficiency, and applicable to a continuous flow reactor system. Detailed characterization using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR, electronic spin resonance (ESR, and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS spectroscopies and the reaction mechanism investigation revealed that the high catalytic performances of these Cu catalysts were ascribed to the adjacent Cu species generated within the nanospaces of the PPI dendrimer and magadiite.

Highly sensitive and selective fluorescent assay for guanine based on the Cu(2+)/eosin Y system.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Huimin; Cui, Yi; Gong, Yijun; Feng, Suling

2016-05-15

A fluorescent probe has been developed for the determination of guanine based on the quenched fluorescence signal of Cu(2+)/eosin Y. Cu(2+) interacted with eosin Y, resulting in fluorescence quenching. Subsequently, with the addition of guanine to the Cu(2+)/eosin Y system, guanine reacted with Cu(2+) to form 1:1 chelate cation, which further combined with eosin Y to form a 1:1 ternary ion-association complex by electrostatic attraction and hydrophobic interaction, resulting in significant decrease of the fluorescence. Hence, a fluorescent system was constructed for rapid, sensitive and selective detection of guanine with a detection limit as low as 1.5 nmol L(-1) and a linear range of 3.3-116 nmol L(-1). The method has been applied satisfactorily to the determination of guanine in DNA and urine samples with the recoveries from 98.7% to 105%. This study significantly expands the realm of application of ternary ion-association complex in fluorescence probe. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of pH and pulp potential on the selective separation of Molybdenite from the Sungun Cu-Mo concentrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javad Mehrabani

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this research, selective flotation of Mo from the Sungun Cu-Mo concentrate was evaluated in different operating conditions. It was found that the addition of 16 kg/t Na2S into flotation pulp and aeration decreased rapidly the initial oxidized- reduction potential (ORP of the pulp from +228mV to -597 mV (with reference to standard Ag/AgCl electrode and increasing the amount of Na2S by 50kg/t did not change the pulp potential. The highest metallurgical and selective separation of Mo from Mo-Cu concentrate were achieved at pH= 10.5 and ORP

On the Value of Nonremovable Reminders for Behavior Modification: An Application to Nail-Biting (Onychophagia)

Science.gov (United States)

Koritzky, Gilly; Yechiam, Eldad

2011-01-01

The authors examined the effectiveness of a novel behavior modification method for dysfunctional and impulsive habits, based on nonremovable reminders (NrRs). NrRs were implemented by having participants wear nonremovable wristbands designated to constantly remind them of their resolution to quit the targeted habit (nail-biting). Participants were…

Coupled growth of Al-Al2Cu eutectics in Al-Cu-Ag alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hecht, U; Witusiewicz, V; Drevermann, A

2012-01-01

Coupled eutectic growth of Al and Al 2 Cu was investigated in univariant Al-Cu-Ag alloys during solidification with planar and cellular morphology. Experiments reveal the dynamic selection of small spacings, below the minimum undercooling spacing and show that distinct morphological features pertain to nearly isotropic or anisotropic Al-Al 2 Cu interfaces.

Telephone reminders reduced the non-attendance rate in a gastroenterology outpatient clinic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Maja Haunstrup; Ainsworth, Mark Andrew

2015-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Non-attendance is a global health-care problem. The aim of the present study was 1) to investigate if a telephone reminder could reduce the non-attendance rate, 2) to study reasons for non-attendance and 3) to evaluate if a permanent implementation would be economically advantageous......,705). Patients in the following three-month period were reminded by telephone one weekday in advance of their appointment, when possible (intervention group, n = 2,479). Non-attending patients in the intervention group received a questionnaire. Based on the results, a financial cost-benefit analysis was made...

A novel coping metal material CoCrCu alloy fabricated by selective laser melting with antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Ling; Memarzadeh, Kaveh; Zhang, Shuyuan; Sun, Ziqing; Yang, Chunguang; Ren, Guogang; Allaker, Robert P; Yang, Ke

2016-10-01

The aim of this study was to fabricate a novel coping metal CoCrCu alloy using a selective laser melting (SLM) technique with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities and to investigate its microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Novel CoCrCu alloy was fabricated using SLM from a mixture of commercial CoCr based alloy and elemental Cu powders. SLM CoCr without Cu served as control. Antibacterial activity was analyzed using standard antimicrobial tests, and antibiofilm properties were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscope. Cu distribution and microstructure were determined using scanning electron microscope, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion resistance was evaluated by potential dynamic polarization and biocompatibility measured using an MTT assay. SLM CoCrCu alloys were found to be bactericidal and able to inhibit biofilm formation. Other factors such as microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility were similar to those of SLM CoCr alloys. The addition of appropriate amounts of Cu not only maintains normal beneficial properties of CoCr based alloys, but also provides SLM CoCrCu alloys with excellent antibacterial and antibiofilm capabilities. This material has the potential to be used as a coping metal for dental applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensitive and selective detection of Cu(II) ion: A new effective 1,8-naphthalimide-based fluorescence 'turn off' sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Guozhen; Li, Chuang; Han, Xintong; Aderinto, Stephen Opeyemi; Shen, Kesheng; Mao, Shanshan; Wu, Huilu

2018-06-01

The present study reports the development of a new 1,8-naphthalimide-based fluorescent sensor V for monitoring Cu(II) ions. The sensor exhibited pH independence over a wide pH range 2.52-9.58, and indicated its possible use for monitoring Cu(II) ions in a competitive pH medium. The sensor also showed high selectivity and sensitivity towards the Cu(II) ions over other competitive metal ions in DMSO-HEPES buffer (v/v, 1:1; pH 7.4) with a fluorescence 'turn off' mode of 79.79% observed. A Job plot indicated the formation of a 1:1 binding mode of the sensor with Cu(II) ions. The association constant and detection limit were 1.14 × 10 6  M -1 and 4.67 × 10 -8 M, respectively. The fluorescence spectrum of the sensor was quenched due to the powerful paramagnetic nature of the Cu(II) ions. Potential application of this sensor was also demonstrated when determining Cu(II) ion levels in two different water samples. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Manufacturing Feasibility and Forming Properties of Cu-4Sn in Selective Laser Melting.

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Mao, Zhongfa; Zhang, David Z; Wei, Peitang; Zhang, Kaifei

2017-03-24

Copper alloys, combined with selective laser melting (SLM) technology, have attracted increasing attention in aerospace engineering, automobile, and medical fields. However, there are some difficulties in SLM forming owing to low laser absorption and excellent thermal conductivity. It is, therefore, necessary to explore a copper alloy in SLM. In this research, manufacturing feasibility and forming properties of Cu-4Sn in SLM were investigated through a systematic experimental approach. Single-track experiments were used to narrow down processing parameter windows. A Greco-Latin square design with orthogonal parameter arrays was employed to control forming qualities of specimens. Analysis of variance was applied to establish statistical relationships, which described the effects of different processing parameters (i.e., laser power, scanning speed, and hatch space) on relative density (RD) and Vickers hardness of specimens. It was found that Cu-4Sn specimens were successfully manufactured by SLM for the first time and both its RD and Vickers hardness were mainly determined by the laser power. The maximum value of RD exceeded 93% theoretical density and the maximum value of Vickers hardness reached 118 HV 0.3/5. The best tensile strength of 316-320 MPa is inferior to that of pressure-processed Cu-4Sn and can be improved further by reducing defects.

Use of RSS feeds for the implementation of clinical reminder.

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Wen-Chou; Wen, Chia-Hsien; Lin, Chih-Yu; Poon, Sek-Kwong; Huang, Shih-Che

2012-06-01

A computer-based reminder system can help physicians get right information and make right decisions in daily clinical work in time. This study presents a RSS-based Clinical Reminding System (RCRS) designed for reminding clinicians to deal with their varied unfinished clinical works. The RCRS was implemented in a hospital to automatically generate messages for every clinician on the basis of clinical information gathered from the hospital information system (HIS) and send them by RSS feed. In order to allow all physicians to participate in the project, the RCRS was integrated with the Computerized Physician Order Entry (COPE) system to provide messages whenever a clinician logs in the HIS; the connection on screen lets the clinician easily make some response. The system can help clinicians focus on patient care without keeping track of the schedule of clinical chores stored in various systems. Two physicians, also directors from Clinical Informatics Research & Development Center (CIRD) who were appointed as project leaders of the RCRS project who went through the entire development process were chosen as interviewees to obtain a preliminary evaluation of the system. The results show the "Information Content" of this system was suggested to be modified, and "Information Accuracy", "Formats", "Ease of use" and "Timeliness" of the system were appropriate to meet the system design purposes.

A Cu²⁺-selective fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY with two pyridine ligands and logic gate.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Liuqian; Zhang, Jing; Yu, Xiaoxiu; Ma, Yifan; Huang, Tianjiao; Shen, Xi; Qiu, Huayu; He, Xingxing; Yin, Shouchun

2015-06-15

A novel near-infrared fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY (Py-1) has been synthesized and characterized. Py-1 displays high selectivity and sensitivity for sensing Cu(2+) over other metal ions in acetonitrile. Upon addition of Cu(2+) ions, the maximum absorption band of Py-1 in CH3CN displays a red shift from 603 to 608 nm, which results in a visual color change from pink to blue. When Py-1 is excited at 600 nm in the presence of Cu(2+), the fluorescent emission intensity of Py-1 at 617 nm is quenched over 86%. Notably, the complex of Py-1-Cu(2+) can be restored with the introduction of EDTA or S(2-). Consequently, an IMPLICATION logic gate at molecular level operating in fluorescence mode with Cu(2+) and S(2-) as chemical inputs can be constructed. Finally, based on the reversible and reproducible system, a nanoscale sequential memory unit displaying "Writing-Reading-Erasing-Reading" functions can be integrated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sex-specific impairment of spatial memory in rats following a reminder of predator stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Hanna M; Robinson, Cristina M; Wentz, Bethany; McKay, Jerel; Dexter, Kyle W; Pisansky, Julia M; Talbot, Jeffery N; Zoladz, Phillip R

2013-07-01

It has been suggested that cognitive impairments exhibited by people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) result from intrusive, flashback memories transiently interfering with ongoing cognitive processing. Researchers have further speculated that females are more susceptible to developing PTSD because they form stronger traumatic memories than males, hence females may be more sensitive to the negative effects of intrusive memories on cognition. We have examined how the reminder of a naturalistic stress experience would affect rat spatial memory and if sex was a contributing factor to such effects. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed, without contact, to an adult female cat for 30 min. Five weeks later, the rats were trained to locate a hidden platform in the radial-arm water maze and given a single long-term memory test trial 24 h later. Before long-term memory testing, the rats were given a 30-min reminder of the cat exposure experienced 5 weeks earlier. The results indicated that the stress reminder impaired spatial memory in the female rats only. Control manipulations revealed that this effect was not attributable to the original cat exposure adversely impacting learning that occurred 5 weeks later, or to merely exposing rats to a novel environment or predator-related cues immediately before testing. These findings provide evidence that the reminder of a naturalistic stressful experience can impair cognitive processing in rats; moreover, since female rats were more susceptible to the memory-impairing effects of the stress reminder, the findings could lend insight into the existing sex differences in susceptibility to PTSD.

MEDication reminder APPs to improve medication adherence in Coronary Heart Disease (MedApp-CHD) Study: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Santo, Karla; Chow, Clara K; Thiagalingam, Aravinda; Rogers, Kris; Chalmers, John; Redfern, Julie

2017-10-08

The growing number of smartphone health applications available in the app stores makes these apps a promising tool to help reduce the global problem of non-adherence to long-term medications. However, to date, there is limited evidence that available medication reminder apps are effective. This study aims to determine the impact of medication reminder apps on adherence to cardiovascular medication when compared with usual care for people with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to determine whether an advanced app compared with a basic app is associated with higher adherence. Randomised controlled trial with follow-up at 3 months to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of medication reminder apps on medication adherence compared with usual care. An estimated sample size of 156 patients with CHD will be randomised to one of three groups (usual care group, basic medication reminder app group and advanced medication reminder app group). The usual care group will receive standard care for CHD with no access to a medication reminder app. The basic medication reminder app group will have access to a medication reminder app with a basic feature of providing simple daily reminders with no interactivity. The advanced medication reminder app group will have access to a medication reminder app with additional interactive and customisable features. The primary outcome is medication adherence measured by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale at 3 months. Secondary outcomes include clinical measurements of blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and medication knowledge. A process evaluation will also be performed to assess the feasibility of the intervention by evaluating the acceptability, utility and engagement with the apps. Ethical approval has been obtained from the Western Sydney Local Health Network Human Research Ethics Committee (AU/RED/HREC/1/WMEAD/3). Study findings will be disseminated via usual scientific forums. ACTRN12616000661471; Pre-results. �

How supervisors' reminders relate to subordinates' absorption and creativity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gevers, J.M.P.; Demerouti, E.

2013-01-01

Purpose – This study aims to examine supervisors' temporal reminders and subordinates' pacing style as they relate to employees' absorption in work tasks, and subsequently creativity. Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a weekly diary study among 32 employees of an IT-development

The use of a polymer inclusion membrane in a paper-based sensor for the selective determination of Cu(II).

Science.gov (United States)

Jayawardane, B Manori; Coo, Lilibeth dlC; Cattrall, Robert W; Kolev, Spas D

2013-11-25

A disposable paper-based sensor (PBS) is described for the determination of Cu(II) in natural and waste waters at approximately 2 cents per measurement. The device makes use of a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) to provide the selectivity for Cu(II). The PIM consists of 40 wt% di(2-ethlyhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the carrier, 10 wt% dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a plasticizer, 49.5 wt% poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as the base polymer and 0.5 wt% (mm(-1)) 1-(2'-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as the colourimetric reagent. High selectivity under mildly acidic conditions (HCl, pH 2.0) is achieved for Cu(II) in the presence of frequently encountered metal ions in natural and waste waters such as Fe(III), Al(III), Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Ca(II), Mg(II), and Ni(II). The laminated PBS consists of a PIM sensing disc (2mm in diameter) attached to the centre of a circular hydrophilic zone (7 mm in diameter) pretreated with 0.01 M HCl. This hydrophilic zone separates the sample port (a circular hole in the plastic cover) from the PIM sensing disc. After introducing 19.2 μL of a sample/standard solution to the sample port, Cu(II) diffuses across the hydrophilic zone and is extracted into the PIM disc as the Cu(II)-D2EHPA complex which subsequently reacts with PAN to produce the red-purple coloured Cu(II)-PAN complex. The colour intensity of the PIM disc is measured 15 min after sample/standard introduction by scanning using a flatbed scanner. Under optimal conditions the device is characterized by a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.06 and 0.21 mg L(-1) Cu(II), respectively, with two linear ranges together covering the Cu(II) concentration range from 0.1 to 30.0 mg L(-1). The PBS was successfully applied to the determination of Cu(II) in hot tap water and mine tailings water. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inhaler Reminders Significantly Improve Asthma Patients' Use of Controller Medications

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... controller medications Share | Inhaler reminders significantly improve asthma patients’ use of controller medications Published Online: July 22, ... the burden and risk of asthma, but many patients do not use them regularly. This poor adherence ...

Toward the development of the direct and selective detection of nitrates by a bioinspired Mo-Cu system.

Science.gov (United States)

Marom, Hanit; Popowski, Yanay; Antonov, Svetlana; Gozin, Michael

2011-10-21

The development of a new platform for the direct and selective detection of nitrates is described. Two thioether-based chemosensors and the corresponding sulfoxides and sulfones were prepared, and their photophysical properties were evaluated. Upon selective sulfoxidation of these thioethers with nitrates via an oxygen-transfer reaction promoted by a bioinspired Mo-Cu system, significant fluorescence shifts were measured. A selective response of these systems, discriminating between nitrate salts and H(2)O(2), was also shown. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Colloidal GdVO4:Eu3+@SiO2 nanocrystals for highly selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ ions

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Yanjie; Noh, Hyeon Mi; Park, Sung Heum; Choi, Byung Chun; Jeong, Jung Hyun

2018-03-01

Nowadays, in view of health and safety demands, the controlled design of selective and sensitive sensors for Cu2+ detection is of considerable importance. Therefore, we construct herein core-shell colloidal GdVO4:Eu3+@SiO2 nanocrystals (NCs) as optical sensor for the detection of Cu2+, which were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal reaction and encapsulated with a uniform layer of ultrathin silica through a sol-gel strategy. The NCs present strong red emission due to energy transfer from VO43- groups to Eu3+ when exciting with ultraviolet (UV) light. This intense red emission from Eu3+ could be selectively quenched in the presence of Cu2+ in comparison to other metal ions and the limit of detection is as low as 80 nM in aqueous solution. It is revealed that the spectral overlap between the emission band of NCs and the absorption of Cu2+ accounts for this intriguing luminescence behavior. The detection ability is highly reversible by the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) with the recovery of almost 100% of the original luminescence. The luminescence quenching and recovery processes can be performed repeatedly with good sensing ability. These remarkable performances allow the colloidal GdVO4:Eu3+@SiO2 NCs a promising fluorescence chemosensor for detecting Cu2+ ions in aqueous solution.

Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4}-based ceramic spectrally selective coatings for efficient solar absorber applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Pengjun [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 (China); Geng, Qingfen; Gao, Xianghu [Research & Development Center for Eco-material and Eco-chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); Yang, Shengrong [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China); Liu, Gang, E-mail: gangliu@licp.cas.cn [Research & Development Center for Eco-material and Eco-chemistry, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000 (China)

2016-08-05

Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4}-based ceramic spectrally selective (CSS) coating was deposited on aluminum substrate using a sol–gel dip-coating method. The citric acid introduced in the precursor system lowered the required calcining temperature of crystalline Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4}. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) peaks of coatings annealed above 450 °C were found to coincide exactly with that of crystalline Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4} in JCPDS database. By optimizing the withdrawal rate and calcining temperature, coating with spectral selectivity as good as α{sub s} = 0.876 and ε{sub 100} = 0.057 was achieved after only one dipping/annealing cycle. Subjected to an accelerated ageing test at 259 °C, the obtained CSS coating showed an excellent thermally durability with the performance criterion (PC) values below 0.05. - Highlights: • Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4}-based CSS coating is achieved after only one dipping/annealing cycle. • Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4} coating is obtained as the annealing temperature reaches to 450 °C. • Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4} coating exhibits optical parameter: α{sub s} = 0.876 and ε{sub 100} = 0.057. • Cu{sub 1.5}Mn{sub 1.5}O{sub 4} coating shows the excellent stability in low to mid temperature region.

Working Memory Load and Reminder Effect on Event-Based Prospective Memory of High- and Low-Achieving Students in Math

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Youzhen; Lian, Rong; Yang, Lixian; Liu, Jianrong; Meng, Yingfang

2017-01-01

The effects of working memory (WM) demand and reminders on an event-based prospective memory (PM) task were compared between students with low and high achievement in math. WM load (1- and 2-back tasks) was manipulated as a within-subject factor and reminder (with or without reminder) as a between-subject factor. Results showed that high-achieving…

Sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions by fluorescent Ag nanoclusters synthesized via a hydrothermal method

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jing; Ren, Xiangling; Meng, Xianwei; Fang, Zheng; Tang, Fangqiong

2013-09-01

An easily prepared fluorescent Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs) probe for the sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions was developed here. The Ag NCs were synthesized by using polymethacrylic acid sodium salt as a template via a convenient hydrothermal process. The as-prepared fluorescent Ag NCs were monodispersed, uniform and less than 2 nm in diameter, and can be quenched in the presence of mercury (Hg2+) or copper (Cu2+) ions. Excellent linear relationships existed between the quenching degree of the Ag NCs and the concentrations of Hg2+ or Cu2+ ions in the range of 10 nM to 20 μM or 10 nM to 30 μM, respectively. By using ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) as the masking agent of Cu2+, Hg2+ was exclusively detected in coexistence with Cu2+ with high sensitivity (LOD = 10 nM), which also provided a reusable detection method for Cu2+. Furthermore, the different quenching phenomena caused by the two metals ions such as changes in visible colour, shifts of UV absorbance peaks and changes in size of Ag NCs make it easy to distinguish between them. Therefore the easily synthesized fluorescent Ag NCs may have great potential as Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions sensors.An easily prepared fluorescent Ag nanoclusters (Ag NCs) probe for the sensitive and selective detection of Hg2+ and Cu2+ ions was developed here. The Ag NCs were synthesized by using polymethacrylic acid sodium salt as a template via a convenient hydrothermal process. The as-prepared fluorescent Ag NCs were monodispersed, uniform and less than 2 nm in diameter, and can be quenched in the presence of mercury (Hg2+) or copper (Cu2+) ions. Excellent linear relationships existed between the quenching degree of the Ag NCs and the concentrations of Hg2+ or Cu2+ ions in the range of 10 nM to 20 μM or 10 nM to 30 μM, respectively. By using ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) as the masking agent of Cu2+, Hg2+ was exclusively detected in coexistence with Cu2+ with high sensitivity (LOD = 10 nM), which also provided a

Feasibility of implementing a cellphone-based reminder/recall strategy to improve childhood routine immunization in a low-resource setting: a descriptive report.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Victoria Bolanle; Oluwatosin, O Abimbola

2017-12-04

Reminder/recall systems are effective ways to improve immunization rates, but their feasibility in primary health care (PHC) settings in Nigeria has not been adequately evaluated. In this study we describe the acceptability and adaptability of immunization reminder/recall system in an urban setting in southwest Nigeria. This is a descriptive report of a cluster randomized controlled trial. Four local government areas (LGAs) were randomly assigned into a cellphone reminder/recall intervention group or a usual care control group. Within each LGA, PHC centers were purposively selected to participate in the study. In each PHC center, mothers and their infants aged 0-3 months were enrolled into the two groups during the infants' first immunization visit. Mothers (or other contact persons) in the intervention group received cellphone calls reminding them to take their child for scheduled immunizations. Follow-up of all the children lasted till the final scheduled immunization visit for each child. The intervention lasted for 13 months. A total of 595 mothers/infants pairs (295 in the intervention group and 300 in the control group) participated in the study. Almost all mothers (n = 590, 99.2%) had access to their own cellphone or had access to a cellphone belonging to a significant other. Ninety-eight percent (n = 584) of all mothers were willing to receive immunization reminder/recall phone calls. Eighty-seven percent (n = 2023) of all calls (n = 2324) for the reminder/recall intervention went through to the recipients and of these calls, 1948 (96.3%) were received. The mean cost of each call in US Dollars was about 5 cents. Immunization compliance rate (the receipt of required number of doses of routine vaccines at the appropriate age at recommended interval) was 79.2% among the children in intervention group and 46.4% in the control group (p recall interventions to improve routine childhood immunization are feasible in PHC settings in limited

Automated Reminders and Physician Notification to Promote Immunosuppression Adherence Among Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Peter P; Bloom, Roy D; Trofe-Clark, Jennifer; Mussell, Adam; Leidy, Daniel; Levsky, Simona; Zhu, Jingsan; Yang, Lin; Wang, Wenli; Troxel, Andrea; Feldman, Harold I; Volpp, Kevin

2017-03-01

Immunosuppression nonadherence increases the risk for kidney transplant loss after transplantation. Wireless-enabled pill bottles have created the opportunity to monitor medication adherence in real time. Reminders may help patients with poor memory or organization. Provision of adherence data to providers may motivate patients to improve adherence and help providers identify adherence barriers. Randomized controlled trial. Kidney transplant recipients (n=120) at a single center. Participants were provided wireless pill bottles to store tacrolimus and record bottle openings. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to adherence monitoring with customized reminders (including alarms, texts, telephone calls, and/or e-mails), monitoring with customized reminders plus provider notification (every 2 weeks, providers received notification if adherence decreased to adherence during the last 90 days of the 180-day trial. A secondary outcome was tacrolimus whole-blood concentrations at routine clinical visits. Adherence for the primary outcome was assessed via wireless pill bottle openings. Mean participant age was 50 years; 60% were men, and 40% were black. Mean adherence was 78%, 88%, and 55% in the reminders, reminders-plus-notification, and control arms (Padherence, but these strategies require evaluation in trials powered to detect differences in clinical outcomes. Copyright © 2016 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of verbal reminders on memory reactivation in 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Imuta, Kana; Scarf, Damian; Hayne, Harlene

2013-06-01

For adults, verbal reminders provide a powerful key to unlock our memories. For example, a simple question, such as "Do you remember your wedding day?" can reactivate rich memories of the past, allowing us to recall experiences that may have occurred days, weeks, and even decades earlier. The ability to use another person's language to access our memory of a prior experience is considered to be one of the hallmarks in human memory development, but surprisingly, little is known about the ontogeny of this fundamental ability. Prior research has shown that by 4 years of age, children can use a simple verbal reminder (e.g., "Do you remember coming here before?") to reactivate an otherwise inaccessible memory of a unique visual stimulus. Given that language comprehension precedes production, it has been hypothesized that the ability to use verbal reminders may emerge well before 4 years of age. In the present experiment, we tested this hypothesis by examining whether a verbal reminder reactivated memory in 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old children who were tested using the visual-paired comparison (VPC) paradigm. Our findings showed that the ability to exploit a simple verbal reminder emerges by at least 2 years of age. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Selective detection of Cu2 + and Co2 + in aqueous media: Asymmetric chemosensors, crystal structure and spectroscopic studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dogaheh, Samira Gholizadeh; Khanmohammadi, Hamid; Carolina Sañudo, E.

2017-05-01

Two new azo-azomethine receptors, H2L1 and H2L2, containing hydrazine, naphthalene and different electron withdrawing groups, Cl and NO2, have been designed and synthesized for qualitative and quantitative detection of Cu2 + and Co2 + in aqueous media. The crystal structure of H2L1is reported. The H2L1was used as a chemosensor for selective detection of trace amount of Cu2 + in aqueous media. H2L2 was also applied to naked-eye distinction of Cu2 + and Co2 + from other transition metal ions in aqueous media. Detection limit of Cu2 + is 1.13 μM and 1.26 μM, in water, for H2L1 and H2L2, respectively, which are lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended level. The binuclear Cu2 + and Co2 + complexes of the receptors have been also prepared and characterized using spectroscopic methods and MALDI-TOF mass analysis. Furthermore, the binding stoichiometry between the receptors upon the addition Cu2 + and Co2 + has been investigated using Job's plot. Moreover, the fluorescence emission spectra of the receptors and their metal complexes are also reported.

Synthesis of a novel fluorescent Schiff base as a possible Cu(II) ion selective sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Mehmet; Kaya, Ismet

2010-05-01

In this study a new fluorescent Schiff base; 1,1'-(4,4'-oxybis(4,1-phenylene)bis(azan-1-yl-1-ylidene))bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)dinaphthalen-2-ol (2-HNA) was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis, and (1)H and (13)C-NMR techniques. Photoluminescent properties of 2-HNA were investigated in different solvents including methanol, THF, DMF, DMSO, acetone, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane. 2-HNA was found to have higher emission intensity and Stoke's shift value (lambda(ST)) in methanol solution. Relative emission intensity changes (I(0)-I/I(0)) of 2-HNA in methanol/water mixtures depending on different Cu(+2) ion concentrations were determined and a linearized plot was obtained. Possible interference of some other transition metal ions was also determined. Sensitivity limit of the new sensor was found to be higher than 5 x 10(-7) mol/L. 2-HNA has quite high selectivity against Cu(+2) ion and, thus, can be used as a new fluorescence Cu(+2) ion sensor in practice.

Fabrication of a Porous Metal via Selective Phase Dissolution in Al-Cu Alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Vargas-Martínez

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Through free corrosion, a new low cost porous material was successfully fabricated by removing a single phase of a binary aluminum-copper alloy. This selective phase dissolution was carried out an Al-Al2Cu eutectic alloy of the Al-Cu binary system and additionally for two hypereutectic compositions. The porosity of the material depends on the microstructure formed upon solidification. For this reason, several solidification methods were studied to define the most convenient in terms of uniformity and refinement of the average pore and ligament sizes. The samples were corroded in a 10% v/v NaOH aqueous solution, which demonstrated to be the most convenient in terms of time involved and resulting porosity conditions after the corrosion process. The porosity was measured through analysis of secondary electron images. The effectiveness of the process was verified using X-ray diffraction, which showed that, under the proposed methodology, there was complete removal of one of the phases, namely the aluminum one.

SMS text message reminders to improve infant vaccination coverage in Guatemala: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Domek, Gretchen J; Contreras-Roldan, Ingrid L; O'Leary, Sean T; Bull, Sheana; Furniss, Anna; Kempe, Allison; Asturias, Edwin J

2016-05-05

Patient reminder systems are an evidence-based way to improve childhood vaccination rates but are difficult to implement in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Short Message Service (SMS) texts may offer a potential low-cost solution, especially in LMICs where mobile phones are becoming more ubiquitous. To determine if an SMS-based vaccination reminder system aimed at improving completion of the infant primary immunization series is feasible and acceptable in Guatemala. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted at two public health clinics in Guatemala City. Infants aged 8-14 weeks presenting for the first dose of the primary immunization series were enrolled in March-April 2013. Participants randomized into the intervention received three SMS reminders one week before the second and third dose. A follow-up acceptability survey was administered to both groups. The participation rate was 86.8% (321/370); 8 did not own a cell phone and 12 could not use SMS. 96.9% of intervention parents were sent at least one SMS reminder prior to visit 2 and 96.3% prior to visit 3. Both intervention and usual care participants had high rates of vaccine and visit completion, with a non-statistically significant higher percentage of children in the intervention completing both visit 2 (95.0% vs. 90.1%, p=.12) and visit 3 (84.4% vs. 80.7%, p=.69). More intervention vs. usual care parents agreed that SMS reminders would be helpful for remembering appointments (p<.0001), agreed to being interested in receiving future SMS reminders (p<.0001), and said that they would be willing to pay for future SMS reminders (p=.01). This proof of concept evaluation showed that a new application of SMS technology is feasible to implement in a LMIC with high user satisfaction. Larger studies with modifications in the SMS system are needed to determine effectiveness (Clinical Trial Registry NCT01663636). Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Assessing the long-term effect of educational reminder messages on primary care radiology referrals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramsay, C.R.; Eccles, M.; Grimshaw, J.M.; Steen, N.

2003-01-01

AIM: To investigate whether the effect of educational reminder messages for knee and lumbar spine radiographs varied over a 12 month period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a previous randomized, controlled trial, educational reminder messages attached to x-ray reports were shown to be effective in reducing the number of radiograph requests by general practitioners for knee and lumbar spine radiographs. In this study, all radiology departments from the previous trial were asked for monthly referral records for the 12 month intervention period for knee and lumbar spine radiographs for each general practice. Poisson regression was used to test for a change over time in the number of referrals between control and intervention practices. RESULTS: Data were obtained for 66% of the general practices in the main trial. The number of referrals for both knee and lumbar spine radiographs remained consistently and statistically significantly lower in the educational reminder messages group compared with the control group (relative risk=0.65 and 0.64, respectively). There was no evidence that this difference increased or decreased throughout the 12 month period. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of educational reminder messages was produced as soon as the intervention was delivered and maintained throughout the intervention period. There was no evidence of the effect of the intervention wearing off

Selective synthesis of clinoatacamite Cu2(OH)3Cl and tenorite CuO nanoparticles by pH control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engelbrekt, Christian; Malcho, Phillip; Andersen, Jonas

2014-01-01

, it directed the growth of Cu2(OH)3Cl to provide pure clinoatacamite without the presence of related poly- morphs. The products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible light spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning transmission X......-ray microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Infrared spectroscopy was essential for characterization of closely related polymorphs of Cu2(OH)3Cl indistinguishable by XRD. A plausible mechanism has been proposed and discussed for the formation of the CuO and Cu2(OH)3Cl nanostructures....

Revisiting the Effect of Reminders on Infants' Media Memories: Does the Encoding Format Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Rachel; Brito, Natalie; Simcock, Gabrielle

2013-01-01

With the present research, the authors examined whether reminders could maintain 18-month-olds' memories generated from picture books and videos. Infants (N = 98) were shown a series of target actions in a picture book or on video. Either 24 hr or 2 weeks prior to a 4-week deferred imitation test, they were exposed to a reminder, a partial…

Nonconformities in real-world fatal crashes--electronic stability control and seat belt reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lie, Anders

2012-01-01

Many new safety systems are entering the market. Vision Zero is a safety strategy aiming at the elimination of fatalities and impairing injuries by the use of a holistic model for safe traffic to develop a safe system. The aim of this article is to analyze fatalities in modern cars with respect to the Vision Zero model with special respect to electronic stability control (ESC) systems and modern seat belt reminders (SBRs). The model is used to identify and understand cases where cars with ESC systems lost control and where occupants were unbelted in a seat with seat belt reminders under normal driving conditions. The model for safe traffic was used to analyze in-depth studies of fatal crashes with respect to seat belt use and loss of control. Vehicles from 2003 and later in crashes from January 2004 to mid-2010 were analyzed. The data were analyzed case by case. Cars that were equipped with ESC systems and lost control and occupants not using the seat belt in a seat with a seat belt reminder were considered as nonconformities. A total of 138 fatal crashes involving 152 fatally injured occupants were analyzed. Cars with ESC systems had fewer loss-of-control-relevant cases than cars without ESC systems. Thirteen percent of the ESC-equipped vehicles had loss-of-control-relevant crashes and 36 percent of the cars without ESC systems had loss-of-control-relevant crashes. The analysis indicates that only one car of the 9 equipped with ESC that lost control did it on a road surface with relevant friction when driving within the speed restriction of the road. In seats with seat belt reminders that are in accordance with the European New Car Assessment Programme's (Euro NCAP) protocol, 93 percent of the occupants were using a seat belt. In seats without reminders this number was 74 percent. This study shows that ESC systems result in a very significant reduction in fatal crashes, especially under normal driving conditions. Under extreme driving conditions such as speeding

Enhanced hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst via surface modification in the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH_3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Tao; Shi, Juan; Liu, Jian; Wang, Daxi; Zhao, Zhen; Cheng, Kai; Li, Jianmei

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was enhanced after surface modification. • An inert silica layer was deposited on the surface of Cu-ZSM-5 and formed a protective layer. • The contact between Si and Cu and Al atoms could form Si-O-Al and Si- O−Cu bonds. • The redox and acidity properties of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD-Aged catalyst were largely retained. • The adsorption and activation of NO and NH_3 was almost unchanged over Cu-ZSM-5-CLD catalyst before and after hydrothermal treatment. - Abstract: The surface of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was modified by chemical liquid deposition (CLD) of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) for enhancing its hydrothermal stability in the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH_3. After hydrothermal aging at 750 °C for 13 h, the catalytic performance of Cu-ZSM-5-Aged catalyst was significantly reduced for NO reduction in the entire temperature range, while that of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD-Aged catalyst was affected very little. The characterization results indicated that an inert silica layer was deposited on the surface of Cu-ZSM-5 and formed a protective layer, which prevents the detachment of Cu"2"+ from ZSM-5 ion-exchange positions and the dealumination of zeolite during the hydrothermal aging process. Based on the data it is hypothesized to be the primary reason for the high hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD catalyst.

Differential Left Hippocampal Activation during Retrieval with Different Types of Reminders: An fMRI Study of the Reconsolidation Process

Science.gov (United States)

De Pino, Gabriela; Fernández, Rodrigo Sebastián; Villarreal, Mirta Fabiana; Pedreira, María Eugenia

2016-01-01

Consolidated memories return to a labile state after the presentation of cues (reminders) associated with acquisition, followed by a period of stabilization (reconsolidation). However not all cues are equally effective in initiating the process, unpredictable cues triggered it, predictable cues do not. We hypothesize that the different effects observed by the different reminder types on memory labilization-reconsolidation depend on a differential neural involvement during reminder presentation. To test it, we developed a declarative task and compared the efficacy of three reminder types in triggering the process in humans (Experiment 1). Finally, we compared the brain activation patterns between the different conditions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (Experiment 2). We confirmed that the unpredictable reminder is the most effective in initiating the labilization-reconsolidation process. Furthermore, only under this condition there was differential left hippocampal activation during its presentation. We suggest that the left hippocampus is detecting the incongruence between actual and past events and allows the memory to be updated. PMID:26991776

Working Memory Load and Reminder Effect on Event-Based Prospective Memory of High- and Low-Achieving Students in Math.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Youzhen; Lian, Rong; Yang, Lixian; Liu, Jianrong; Meng, Yingfang

The effects of working memory (WM) demand and reminders on an event-based prospective memory (PM) task were compared between students with low and high achievement in math. WM load (1- and 2-back tasks) was manipulated as a within-subject factor and reminder (with or without reminder) as a between-subject factor. Results showed that high-achieving students outperformed low-achieving students on all PM and n-back tasks. Use of a reminder improved PM performance and thus reduced prospective interference; the performance of ongoing tasks also improved for all students. Both PM and n-back performances in low WM load were better than in high WM load. High WM load had more influence on low-achieving students than on high-achieving students. Results suggest that low-achieving students in math were weak at PM and influenced more by high WM load. Thus, it is important to train these students to set up an obvious reminder for their PM and improve their WM.

Differential Left Hippocampal Activation during Retrieval with Different Types of Reminders: An fMRI Study of the Reconsolidation Process.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cecilia Forcato

Full Text Available Consolidated memories return to a labile state after the presentation of cues (reminders associated with acquisition, followed by a period of stabilization (reconsolidation. However not all cues are equally effective in initiating the process, unpredictable cues triggered it, predictable cues do not. We hypothesize that the different effects observed by the different reminder types on memory labilization-reconsolidation depend on a differential neural involvement during reminder presentation. To test it, we developed a declarative task and compared the efficacy of three reminder types in triggering the process in humans (Experiment 1. Finally, we compared the brain activation patterns between the different conditions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI (Experiment 2. We confirmed that the unpredictable reminder is the most effective in initiating the labilization-reconsolidation process. Furthermore, only under this condition there was differential left hippocampal activation during its presentation. We suggest that the left hippocampus is detecting the incongruence between actual and past events and allows the memory to be updated.

Taxing working memory during retrieval of emotional memories does not reduce memory accessibility when cued with reminders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin eVan Schie

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Earlier studies have shown that when individuals recall an emotional memory while simultaneously doing a demanding dual-task (e.g., playing Tetris, mental arithmetic, making eye movements, this reduces self-reported vividness and emotionality of the memory. These effects have been found up to one week later, but have largely been confined to self-report ratings. This study examined whether this dual-tasking intervention reduces memory performance (i.e., accessibility of emotional memories. Undergraduates (N = 60 studied word-image pairs and rated the retrieved image on vividness and emotionality when cued with the word. Then they viewed the cues and recalled the images with or without making eye movements. Finally, they re-rated the images on vividness and emotionality. Additionally, fragments from images from all conditions were presented and participants identified which fragment was paired earlier with which cue. Findings showed no effect of the dual-task manipulation on self-reported ratings and latency responses. Cued recall may not have been sufficient to elicit specific and continuous target retrieval for memory blurring to occur. The study demonstrates boundaries to the effects of the dual-tasking procedure.

One-Pot Synthesis of Cu-Nanocluster-Decorated Brookite TiO2 Quasi-Nanocubes for Enhanced Activity and Selectivity of CO2 Photoreduction to CH4.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Jingpeng; Luo, Jiang; Zan, Ling; Peng, Tianyou

2017-11-17

A new kind of metallic Cu-loaded brookite TiO 2 composite, in which Cu nanoclusters with a small size of 1-3 nm are decorated on brookite TiO 2 quasi nanocube (BTN) surfaces (hereafter referred to as Cu-BTN), is synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal process and then used as photocatalyst for CO 2 reduction. It was found that the decoration of Cu nanoclusters on BTN surfaces can improve the activity and selectivity of CO 2 photoreduction to CH 4 , and 1.5 % Cu-BTN gives a maximum overall photocatalytic activity (150.9 μmol g -1  h -1 ) for CO/CH 4 production, which is ≈11.4 and ≈3.3 times higher than those of pristine BTN (13.2 μmol g -1  h -1 ) and Ag-BTN (45.2 μmol g -1  h -1 ). Moreover, the resultant Cu-BTN products can promote the selective generation of CH 4 as compared to CO due to the number of surface oxygen vacancies and the CO 2 /H 2 O adsorption behavior, which differs from that of the pristine BTN. The present results demonstrate that brookite TiO 2 would be a potential effective photocatalyst for CO 2 photoreduction, and that Cu nanoclusters can act as an inexpensive and efficient co-catalyst alternative to the commonly used noble metals to improve the photoactivity and selectivity for CO 2 reduction to CH 4 . © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Use of electronic clinical reminders to increase preventive screenings in a primary care setting: blueprint from a successful process in Kodiak, Alaska.

Science.gov (United States)

Onders, Robert; Spillane, James; Reilley, Brigg; Leston, Jessica

2014-01-01

The Kodiak Area Native Association (KANA) provides primary health care in Kodiak, Alaska and 6 outlying villages. KANA sought to actively improve key preventive screening rates for its patients. KANA adopted an electronic health record in 2008 and deployed national clinical reminders from the Indian Health Service for 5 key preventive screenings: tobacco use, alcohol use, depression, intimate partner violence, and a comprehensive cardiovascular exam. Clinical reminders were deployed in a 5-step process: (a) establish clinical demand, (b) pilot test reminder, (c) expand reminder to all providers, (d) measure outcomes and share results, and (e) delegate clinical reminder follow-up (primarily to nurses). Data from 2007-2011 show screening rates for all 5 measures improved considerably, to levels significantly above the national average for Indian Health Service facilities. Clinical reminders have been a key part of a multistep process to improve screening for depression, tobacco cessation, intimate partner violence, alcohol use, and cardiovascular disease. If deployed correctly, reminders are valuable tools in identifying patients who are overdue for preventive health screenings.

Effect of Cu on microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and cytotoxicity of CoCrW alloy fabricated by selective laser melting.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yanjin; Ren, Ling; Xu, Xiongcheng; Yang, Yang; Wu, Songquan; Luo, Jiasi; Yang, Mingyu; Liu, Lingling; Zhuang, Danhong; Yang, Ke; Lin, Jinxin

2018-05-01

In the study, CoCrWCu alloys with differing Cu content (2, 3, 4 wt%) were prepared by selective laser melting using mixture powders consisting of CoCrW and Cu, aiming at investigating the effect of Cu on the microstructures, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior and cytotoxicity. The SEM observations indicated that the Cu content up to 3 wt% caused the Si-rich precipitates to segregate along grain boundaries and in the grains, and EBSD analysis suggested that the Cu addition decreased the recrystallization degree and increased the grain diameter and fraction of big grains. The tensile tests found that the increasing Cu content led to a decrease of mechanical properties compared with Cu-free CoCrW alloy. The electrochemical tests revealed that the addition of Cu shifted the corrosion potential toward nobler positive, but increased the corrosion current density. Also, a more protective passive film was formed when 2 wt% Cu content was added, but the higher Cu content up to 3 wt% was detrimental to the corrosion resistance. It was noted that there was no cytotoxicity for Cu-bearing CoCrW alloys to MG-63 cell and the cells could spread well on the surfaces of studied alloys. Meanwhile, the Cu-bearing CoCrW alloy exhibited an excellent antibacterial performance against E.coli when Cu content was up to 3 wt%. It is suggested that the feasible fabrication of Cu-bearing CoCrW alloy by SLM using mixed CoCrW and Cu powders is a promising candidate for use in antibacterial oral repair products. This current study also can aid in the further design of antibacterial Cu-containing CoCrW alloying powders. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Highly selective and sensitive detection of Cu2+ with lysine enhancing bovine serum albumin modified-carbon dots fluorescent probe.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jia-Ming; Lin, Li-ping; Wang, Xin-Xing; Lin, Shao-Qin; Cai, Wen-Lian; Zhang, Li-Hong; Zheng, Zhi-Yong

2012-06-07

Based on the ability of lysine (Lys) to enhance the fluorescence intensity of bovine serum albumin modified-carbon dots (CDs-BSA) to decrease surface defects and quench fluorescence of the CDs-BSA-Lys system in the presence of Cu(2+) under conditions of phosphate buffer (PBS, pH = 5.0) at 45 °C for 10 min, a sensitive Lys enhancing CDs-BSA fluorescent probe was designed. The environment-friendly, simple, rapid, selective and sensitive fluorescent probe has been utilized to detect Cu(2+) in hair and tap water samples and it achieved consistent results with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The mechanism of the proposed assay for the detection of Cu(2+) is discussed.

Endogenous Estradiol Is Associated with Verbal Memory in Nondemented Older Men

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Molly E.; Lipton, Richard B.; Santoro, Nanette; McConnell, Daniel S.; Derby, Carol A.; Katz, Mindy J.; Baigi, Khosrow; Saunders-Pullman, Rachel

2011-01-01

This study examined the relationship between endogenous hormones and cognitive function in nondemented, ethnically-diverse community-dwelling older men enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study (EAS). All eligible participants (185 men, mean age = 81 years) received neuropsychological assessment (Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), Logical…

Implementing a reward and reminder underage drinking prevention program in convenience stores near Southern California American Indian reservations.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Roland S; Roberts, Jennifer; McGaffigan, Richard; Calac, Daniel; Grube, Joel W; Gilder, David A; Ehlers, Cindy L

2012-09-01

Underage drinking is associated with a number of social and public health consequences. Preventing access to alcohol is one approach to reducing underage drinking. This study assesses the efficacy of a culturally tailored "reward and reminder" program aimed at reducing convenience store alcohol sales to youth living on or near nine American Indian reservations. First, tribal council proclamations were sought to support underage drinking prevention, including reward and reminder efforts. Then, decoys (volunteers over 21 years of age but judged to look younger) attempted to purchase alcohol without identification. Clerks who asked for identification were given "rewards" (gift cards and congratulatory letters), whereas clerks who did not were given "reminders" of the law regarding sales to minors. Following an initial baseline of 12 purchase attempts, three repeated reward and reminder visits were made to 13 convenience stores selling alcohol within 10 miles of the reservations (n = 51 total attempts). Five of nine tribal councils passed resolutions in support of the program. The baseline sales rate without requesting ID was 33%. Similarly, 38% of stores in the first reward and reminder visit round failed to request identification. However, in the following two reward and reminder rounds, 0% of the stores failed to request identification. These results indicate that environmental community-level underage drinking prevention strategies to reduce alcohol sales near rural reservations are feasible and can be effective. Environmental prevention strategies within reservation communities support integrated supply and demand reduction models for reducing underage drinking.

Effectiveness of Ford's belt reminder system in increasing seat belt use

OpenAIRE

Williams, A; Wells, J; Farmer, C

2002-01-01

Objectives: The study investigated the effectiveness in increasing seat belt use of Ford's belt reminder system, a supplementary system that provides intermittent flashing lights and chimes for five minutes if drivers are not belted.

Highly selective and sensitive method for Cu2 + detection based on chiroptical activity of L-Cysteine mediated Au nanorod assemblies

Science.gov (United States)

Abbasi, Shahryar; Khani, Hamzeh

2017-11-01

Herein, we demonstrated a simple and efficient method to detect Cu2 + based on amplified optical activity in the chiral nanoassemblies of gold nanorods (Au NRs). L-Cysteine can induce side-by-side or end-to-end assembly of Au NRs with an evident plasmonic circular dichroism (PCD) response due to coupling between surface plasmon resonances (SPR) of Au NRs and the chiral signal of L-Cys. Because of the obvious stronger plasmonic circular dichrosim (CD) response of the side-by-side assembly compared with the end-to-end assemblies, SS assembled Au NRs was selected as a sensitive platform and used for Cu2 + detection. In the presence of Cu2 +, Cu2 + can catalyze O2 oxidation of cysteine to cystine. With an increase in Cu2 + concentration, the L-Cysteine-mediated assembly of Au NRs decreased because of decrease in the free cysteine thiol groups, and the PCD signal decreased. Taking advantage of this method, Cu2 + could be detected in the concentration range of 20 pM-5 nM. Under optimal conditions, the calculated detection limit was found to be 7 pM.

Selection of multiple cued items is possible during visual short-term memory maintenance.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsukura, Michi; Vecera, Shaun P

2015-07-01

Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that maintenance of a selected object feature held in visual short-term/working memory (VSTM/VWM) is supported by the same neural mechanisms that encode the sensory information. If VSTM operates by retaining "reasonable copies" of scenes constructed during sensory processing (Serences, Ester, Vogel, & Awh, 2009, p. 207, the sensory recruitment hypothesis), then attention should be able to select multiple items represented in VSTM as long as the number of these attended items does not exceed the typical VSTM capacity. It is well known that attention can select at least two noncontiguous locations at the same time during sensory processing. However, empirical reports from the studies that examined this possibility are inconsistent. In the present study, we demonstrate that (1) attention can indeed select more than a single item during VSTM maintenance when observers are asked to recognize a set of items in the manner that these items were originally attended, and (2) attention can select multiple cued items regardless of whether these items are perceptually organized into a single group (contiguous locations) or not (noncontiguous locations). The results also replicate and extend the recent finding that selective attention that operates during VSTM maintenance is sensitive to the observers' goal and motivation to use the cueing information.

The effect of requesting a reason for non-adherence to a guideline in a long running automated reminder system for PONV prophylaxis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooij, Fabian O.; Klok, Toni; Preckel, Benedikt; Hollmann, Markus W.; Kal, Jasper E.

2017-01-01

Automated reminders are employed frequently to improve guideline adherence, but limitations of automated reminders are becoming more apparent. We studied the reasons for non-adherence in the setting of automated reminders to test the hypothesis that a separate request for a reason in itself may

First-aid boxes - Reminder

CERN Multimedia

GS Department

2010-01-01

With a view to ensuring optimum use of the first-aid boxes on the CERN site, we should like to remind you of various changes introduced in March 2009: The TSO of the buildings concerned is responsible for the first-aid boxes, including checking their contents.   First-aid boxes may be restocked ONLY at the CERN stores (SCEM No. 54.99.80). This is no longer possible at the Infirmary. The associated cost is charged to the Departments.   First-aid boxes should be used only for mild injuries. All other cases should be referred to the Medical Service Infirmary (Bldg. 57 – ground-floor, tel. 73802) between 8.00 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. or to the Fire and Rescue Service (tel. 74444). N.B.: This information does not apply to the red emergency first-aid boxes in the underground areas or to the emergency kits for use in the event of being splashed with hydrofluoric acid.

Email Reminders Increase the Frequency That Pet Owners Update Their Microchip Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie Goodwin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Stray animals with incorrect microchip details are less likely to be reclaimed, and unclaimed strays are at increased risk of euthanasia. A retrospective cohort study was performed using 394,747 cats and 904,909 dogs registered with Australia’s largest microchip database to describe animal characteristics, determine whether annual email reminders increased the frequency that owners updated their information, and to compare frequencies of microchip information updates according to pet and owner characteristics. More than twice as many dogs (70% than cats (30% were registered on the database; the most numerous pure-breeds were Ragdoll cats and Staffordshire Bull Terrier dogs, and the number of registered animals per capita varied by Australian state or territory. Owners were more likely (p < 0.001 to update their details soon after they were sent a reminder email, compared to immediately before that email, and there were significant (p < 0.001 differences in the frequency of owner updates by state or territory of residence, animal species, animal age, and socioeconomic index of the owner’s postcode. This research demonstrates that email reminders increase the probability of owners updating their details on the microchip database, and this could reduce the percentages of stray animals that are unclaimed and subsequently euthanized.

Anisotropic localized surface plasmon resonances in CuS nanoplates prepared by size-selective precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Hamanaka, Yasushi; Yamada, Kaoru; Hirose, Tatsunori; Kuzuya, Toshihiro

2018-05-01

CuS nanoplates were synthesized by a colloidal method and separated into four fractions of nanoplates with different aspect ratios by a size-selective precipitation. In addition to a strong near infrared absorption band ascribed to the in-plane mode of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), we found a weak absorption band on the high frequency tail of the in-plane LSPR band. The frequency of the weak absorption band was almost constant and independent of the aspect ratio, while the in-plane LSPR band exhibited a strong aspect ratio dependence. These characteristics suggested that the weak absorption band is ascribed to the out-of-plane LSPR. Although the out-of-plane LSPR was expected to be difficult to observe for CuS nanoplates due to its low intensity and overlap with the strong in-plane resonance, we could successfully identify the out-of-plane mode by reducing the width of the size distribution and spectral broadening caused thereby.

Enhanced hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst via surface modification in the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH{sub 3}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Tao; Shi, Juan; Liu, Jian, E-mail: liujian@cup.edu.cn; Wang, Daxi; Zhao, Zhen, E-mail: zhenzhao@cup.edu.cn; Cheng, Kai; Li, Jianmei

2016-07-01

Highlights: • The hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was enhanced after surface modification. • An inert silica layer was deposited on the surface of Cu-ZSM-5 and formed a protective layer. • The contact between Si and Cu and Al atoms could form Si-O-Al and Si- O−Cu bonds. • The redox and acidity properties of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD-Aged catalyst were largely retained. • The adsorption and activation of NO and NH{sub 3} was almost unchanged over Cu-ZSM-5-CLD catalyst before and after hydrothermal treatment. - Abstract: The surface of Cu-ZSM-5 catalyst was modified by chemical liquid deposition (CLD) of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) for enhancing its hydrothermal stability in the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH{sub 3}. After hydrothermal aging at 750 °C for 13 h, the catalytic performance of Cu-ZSM-5-Aged catalyst was significantly reduced for NO reduction in the entire temperature range, while that of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD-Aged catalyst was affected very little. The characterization results indicated that an inert silica layer was deposited on the surface of Cu-ZSM-5 and formed a protective layer, which prevents the detachment of Cu{sup 2+} from ZSM-5 ion-exchange positions and the dealumination of zeolite during the hydrothermal aging process. Based on the data it is hypothesized to be the primary reason for the high hydrothermal stability of Cu-ZSM-5-CLD catalyst.

Online guideline assist in intensive care medicine--is the login-authentication a sufficient trigger for reminders?

Science.gov (United States)

Röhrig, Rainer; Meister, Markus; Michel-Backofen, Achim; Sedlmayr, Martin; Uphus, Dirk; Katzer, Christian; Rose, Thomas

2006-01-01

Rising cost pressure due to the implementation of the DRG-System and quality assurance lead to an increased use of therapy standards and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in intensive care medicine. The intention of the German Scientific Society supported project "OLGA" (Online Guideline Assist) is to develop a prototype of a knowledge based system supporting physicians of an intensive care unit in recognizing the indication for and selecting a specific guideline or SOP. While the response of the prototype on user entries can be displayed as a signal on the used workstation itself, the location and time for a reminder of scheduled or missed procedures or reactions to imported information is a difficult issue. One possible approach to this task is the display of non acknowledged reminders or recommendations while logging on to a system. The objective of this study is to analyse user behaviour of the physicians working on the surgical intensive care unit to decide whether the login authentication is a sufficient trigger for clinical reminding. The surgical intensive care unit examined in this study comprises 14 beds. Medical care is provided by physicians working in shifts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with two anaesthetists at a time and an additional senior consultant during daytime. The entire documentation (examinations, medication, orders, care) is performed using the patient data management system ICUData. The authentication process of the physicians was logged and analysed. Throughout the observation period from December 13th 2005 to January 11th 2006 3563 physician logins were counted in total. The mean span between logins was in 11.3 minutes (SD 14.4), the median 7 minutes. The 75% centile was 14 minutes, the 95% centile 38 min. Intervals greater than 60 minutes occurred in 75%, and greater than 90 minutes in 25% of the days. It seems reasonable that reminders sent during authentication are able to enforce workflow compliance. It is possible to send

A novel highly selective and sensitive detection of serotonin based on Ag/polypyrrole/Cu2O nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Selvarajan, S; Suganthi, A; Rajarajan, M

2018-06-01

A silver/polypyrrole/copper oxide (Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O) ternary nanocomposite was prepared by sonochemical and oxidative polymerization simple way, in which Cu 2 O was decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and covered by polyprrole (PPy) layer. The as prepared materials was characterized by UV-vis-spectroscopy (UV-vis), FT-IR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDX, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Sensing of serotonin (5HT) was evaluated electrocatalyst using polypyrrole/glassy carbon electrode (PPy/GCE), polypyrrole/copper oxide/glassy carbon electrode (PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE) and silver/polypyrrole/copper oxide/glassy carbon electrode (Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE). The Ag/PPy/Cu 2 O/GCE was electrochemically treated in 0.1MPBS solution through cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The peak current response increases linearly with 5-HT concentration from 0.01 to 250 µmol L -1 and the detection limit was found to be 0.0124 μmol L -1 . It exhibits high electrocatalytic activity, satisfactory repeatability, stability, fast response and good selectivity against potentially interfering species, which suggests its potential in the development of sensitive, selective, easy-operation and low-cost serotonin sensor for practical routine analyses. The proposed method is potential to expand the possible applied range of the nanocomposite material for detection of various concerned electro active substances. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of mobile phone text message reminders in health care services: a narrative literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kannisto, Kati Anneli; Koivunen, Marita Hannele; Välimäki, Maritta Anneli

2014-10-17

Mobile text messages are a widely recognized communication method in societies, as the global penetration of the technology approaches 100% worldwide. Systematic knowledge is still lacking on how the mobile telephone text messaging (short message service, SMS) has been used in health care services. This study aims to review the literature on the use of mobile phone text message reminders in health care. We conducted a systematic literature review of studies on mobile telephone text message reminders. The data sources used were PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL, Proquest Databases/ PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and hand searching since 2003. Studies reporting the use of SMS intended to remind patients in health services were included. Given the heterogeneity in the studies, descriptive characteristics, purpose of the study, response rates, description of the intervention, dose and timing, instruments, outcome measures, and outcome data from the studies were synthesized using a narrative approach. From 911 initial citations, 60 studies were included in the review. The studies reported a variety of use for SMS. Mobile telephone text message reminders were used as the only intervention in 73% (44/60) of the studies, and in 27% (16/60) of the remaining studies, SMS was connected to another comprehensive health intervention system. SMS reminders were sent to different patient groups: patients with HIV/AIDS (15%, 9/60) and diabetes (13%, 8/60) being the most common groups. The response rates of the studies varied from 22-100%. Typically, the text message reminders were sent daily. The time before the specific intervention to be rendered varied from 10 minutes (eg, medication taken) to 2 weeks (eg, scheduled appointment). A wide range of different evaluation methods and outcomes were used to assess the impact of SMS varying from existing databases (eg, attendance rate based on medical records), questionnaires, and physiological measures. About three quarters of the

Study on the Selective Laser Melting of CuSn10 Powder.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Chengyang; Kang, Jinwu; Feng, Tao; Feng, Yunlong; Wang, Xiang; Wu, Pengyue

2018-04-17

The selective laser melting of tin bronze (CuSn 10 ) powder was performed with a laser energy density intensity level at 210, 220, and 230 J/mm². The composition was homogeneous with almost all tin dissolved into the matrix. The grain size of the obtained alpha copper phase was around 5 μm. The best properties were achieved at 220 J/mm² laser energy density with a density of 8.82 g/cm³, hardness of 78.2 HRB (Rockwell Hardness measured on the B scale), yield strength of 399 MPa, tensile strength of 490 MPa, and an elongation that reached 19%. “Balling effect” appeared and resulted into a decrease of properties when the laser energy density increased to 230 J/mm².

Behavioral performance follows the time course of neural facilitation and suppression during cued shifts of feature-selective attention

OpenAIRE

Andersen, S. K.; Müller, M. M.

2010-01-01

A central question in the field of attention is whether visual processing is a strictly limited resource, which must be allocated by selective attention. If this were the case, attentional enhancement of one stimulus should invariably lead to suppression of unattended distracter stimuli. Here we examine voluntary cued shifts of feature-selective attention to either one of two superimposed red or blue random dot kinematograms (RDKs) to test whether such a reciprocal relationship between enhanc...

Free and Cued Recall Memory in Parkinson’s Disease Associated with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Alberto; Monaco, Marco; Zabberoni, Silvia; Peppe, Antonella; Perri, Roberta; Fadda, Lucia; Iannarelli, Francesca; Caltagirone, Carlo; Carlesimo, Giovanni A.

2014-01-01

The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI) are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD), and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (pcued recall (p>0.10) task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p0.10) but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (precall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042). Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning. PMID:24465977

Physical mechanisms of Cu-Cu wafer bonding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rebhan, B.

2014-01-01

Modern manufacturing processes of complex integrated semiconductor devices are based on wafer-level manufacturing of components which are subsequently interconnected. When compared with classical monolithic bi-dimensional integrated circuits (2D ICs), the new approach of three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs) exhibits significant benefits in terms of signal propagation delay and power consumption due to the reduced metal interconnection length and allows high integration levels with reduced form factor. Metal thermo-compression bonding is a process suitable for 3D interconnects applications at wafer level, which facilitates the electrical and mechanical connection of two wafers even processed in different technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Due to its high electrical conductivity, copper is a very attractive material for electrical interconnects. For Cu-Cu wafer bonding the process requires typically bonding for around 1 h at 400°C and high contact pressure applied during bonding. Temperature reduction below such values is required in order to solve issues regarding (i) throughput in the wafer bonder, (ii) wafer-to-wafer misalignment after bonding and (iii) to minimise thermo-mechanical stresses or device degradation. The aim of this work was to study the physical mechanisms of Cu-Cu bonding and based on this study to further optimise the bonding process for low temperatures. The critical sample parameters (roughness, oxide, crystallinity) were identified using selected analytical techniques and correlated with the characteristics of the bonded Cu-Cu interfaces. Based on the results of this study the impact of several materials and process specifications on the bonding result were theoretically defined and experimentally proven. These fundamental findings subsequently facilitated low temperature (LT) metal thermo-compression Cu-Cu wafer bonding and even room temperature direct

The impact of text message reminders on adherence to antimalarial treatment in northern Ghana: a randomized trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia R G Raifman

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Low rates of adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT regimens increase the risk of treatment failure and may lead to drug resistance, threatening the sustainability of current anti-malarial efforts. We assessed the impact of text message reminders on adherence to ACT regimens. METHODS: Health workers at hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other stationary ACT distributors in Tamale, Ghana provided flyers advertising free mobile health information to individuals receiving malaria treatment. The messaging system automatically randomized self-enrolled individuals to the control group or the treatment group with equal probability; those in the treatment group were further randomly assigned to receive a simple text message reminder or the simple reminder plus an additional statement about adherence in 12-hour intervals. The main outcome was self-reported adherence based on follow-up interviews occurring three days after treatment initiation. We estimated the impact of the messages on treatment completion using logistic regression. RESULTS: 1140 individuals enrolled in both the study and the text reminder system. Among individuals in the control group, 61.5% took the full course of treatment. The simple text message reminders increased the odds of adherence (adjusted OR 1.45, 95% CI [1.03 to 2.04], p-value 0.028. Receiving an additional message did not result in a significant change in adherence (adjusted OR 0.77, 95% CI [0.50 to 1.20], p-value 0.252. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a simple text message reminder can increase adherence to antimalarial treatment and that additional information included in messages does not have a significant impact on completion of ACT treatment. Further research is needed to develop the most effective text message content and frequency. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01722734.

The impact of text message reminders on adherence to antimalarial treatment in northern Ghana: a randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Raifman, Julia R G; Lanthorn, Heather E; Rokicki, Slawa; Fink, Günther

2014-01-01

Low rates of adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) regimens increase the risk of treatment failure and may lead to drug resistance, threatening the sustainability of current anti-malarial efforts. We assessed the impact of text message reminders on adherence to ACT regimens. Health workers at hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and other stationary ACT distributors in Tamale, Ghana provided flyers advertising free mobile health information to individuals receiving malaria treatment. The messaging system automatically randomized self-enrolled individuals to the control group or the treatment group with equal probability; those in the treatment group were further randomly assigned to receive a simple text message reminder or the simple reminder plus an additional statement about adherence in 12-hour intervals. The main outcome was self-reported adherence based on follow-up interviews occurring three days after treatment initiation. We estimated the impact of the messages on treatment completion using logistic regression. 1140 individuals enrolled in both the study and the text reminder system. Among individuals in the control group, 61.5% took the full course of treatment. The simple text message reminders increased the odds of adherence (adjusted OR 1.45, 95% CI [1.03 to 2.04], p-value 0.028). Receiving an additional message did not result in a significant change in adherence (adjusted OR 0.77, 95% CI [0.50 to 1.20], p-value 0.252). The results of this study suggest that a simple text message reminder can increase adherence to antimalarial treatment and that additional information included in messages does not have a significant impact on completion of ACT treatment. Further research is needed to develop the most effective text message content and frequency. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01722734.

Phase selection and microstructure in directional solidification of glass forming Pd-Si-Cu alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Yang

Phase selection and microstructure formation during the rapid solidification of alloy melts has been a topic of substantial interest over the last several decades, attributed mainly to the access to novel structures involving metastable crystalline and non-crystalline phases. In this work, Bridgeman type directional solidification was conducted in Pd-Si-Cu glass forming system to study such cooling rate dependent phase transition and microstructure formation. The equilibrium state for Pd-Si-Cu ternary system was investigated through three different works. First of all, phase stabilities for Pd-Si binary system was accessed with respects of first-principles and experiments, showing Pd5Si, Pd9Si2, Pd3Si and Pd 2Si phase are stable all way to zero Kevin while PdSi phase is a high temperature stable phase, and Pd2Si phase with Fe2P is a non-stoichiometry phase. A thermodynamic database was developed for Pd-Si system. Second, crystal structures for compounds with ternary compositions were studied by XRD, SEM and TEM, showing ordered and disordered B2/bcc phases are stable in Pd-rich part. At last, based on many phase equilibria and phase transitions data, a comprehensive thermodynamic discrption for Pd-Si-Cu ternary system was first time to be developed, from which different phase diagrams and driving force for kinetics can be calculated. Phase selection and microstructure formation in directional solidification of the best glass forming composition, Pd 77.5Si16.5Cu6, in this system with growth velocities from 0.005 to 7.5mm/s was systematically studied and the solidification pathways at different conditions were interpreted from thermodynamic simulation. The results show that for growth velocities are smaller than 0.1mm/s Pd 3Si phase is primary phase and Pd9Si2 phase is secondary phase, the difficulty for Pd9Si2 phase nucleation gives rise to the formation of two different eutectic structure. For growth velocities between 0.4 and 1mm/s, instead of Pd3Si phase, Pd9Si2

Cu-Zr-Ag bulk metallic glasses based on Cu8Zr5 icosahedron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Junhai; Qiang Jianbing; Wang Yingmin; Wang Qing; Dong Chuang

2007-01-01

Based on the cluster line criterion, the Ag addition into the Cu 8 Zr 5 cluster composition is investigated for the search of ternary Cu-Zr-Ag bulk metallic glasses with high glass forming abilities. Two initial binary compositions Cu 0.618 Zr 0.382 and Cu 0.64 Zr 0.36 are selected. The former one corresponds to a deep eutectic point; it is also the composition of the Cu 8 Zr 5 icosahedron, which is derived from the Cu 8 Zr 3 structure. The latter one, which can be regarded as the Cu 8 Zr 5 cluster plus a glue atom Cu, is the best glass-forming composition in the Cu-Zr binary system. Two composition lines (Cu 0.618 Zr 0.382 ) 1-x Ag x and (Cu 0.64 Zr 0.36 ) 1-x Ag x are thus constructed in the Cu-Zr-Ag system by linking these two compositions with the third constitute Ag. A series of Cu-Zr-Ag bulk metallic glasses are found with 2-8 at.% Ag contents in both composition lines. The optimum composition (Cu 0.618 Zr 0.382 ) 0.92 Ag 0.08 within the searched region with the highest T g /T l = 0.633, is located along the cluster line (Cu 0.618 Zr 0.382 ) 1-x Ag x , where the deep eutectic Cu 0.618 Zr 0.382 exactly corresponds to the dense packing cluster Cu 8 Zr 5 . The alloying mechanism is discussed in the light of atomic size and electron concentration factors

Antimicrobial Cu-bearing stainless steel scaffolds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Qiang, E-mail: mfqwang@163.com [School of Stomatology, China Medical University, Shenyang 110002 (China); Ren, Ling [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China); Li, Xiaopeng [School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia (Australia); Zhang, Shuyuan [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China); Sercombe, Timothy B., E-mail: tim.sercombe@uwa.edu.au [School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia (Australia); Yang, Ke, E-mail: kyang@imr.ac.cn [Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)

2016-11-01

Copper-bearing stainless steel scaffolds with two different structures (Body Centered Cubic and Gyroid labyrinth) at two solid fractions (25% and 40%) were fabricated from both 316L powder and a mixture of 316L and elemental Cu powder using selective laser melting, and relative 316L scaffolds were served as control group. After processing, the antimicrobial testing demonstrated that the 316L-Cu scaffolds presented excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the cell viability assay indicated that there was no cytotoxic effect of 316L-Cu scaffolds on rat marrow mesenchymal stem cells. As such, these have the potential to reduce implant-associated infections. The Cu was also found to homogeneously distribute within the microstructure by scanning electronic microcopy. The addition of Cu would not significantly affect its strength and stiffness compared to 316L scaffold, and the stiffness of all the scaffolds (3-20GPa) is similar to that of bone and much less than that of bulk stainless steel. Consequently, fabrication of such low stiffness porous structures, especially coupled with the addition of antimicrobial Cu, may provide a new direction for medical stainless steels. - Highlights: • 316L-Cu scaffolds were fabricated by using selective laser melting (SLM). • 316L-Cu scaffolds showed satisfied antimicrobial activities. • 316L-Cu scaffolds have no cytotoxic effect on normal cells. • Other properties of 316L-Cu scaffolds were similar to 316L scaffolds. • 316L-Cu scaffolds have the potential to be used in orthopedic applications.

Antimicrobial Cu-bearing stainless steel scaffolds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Qiang; Ren, Ling; Li, Xiaopeng; Zhang, Shuyuan; Sercombe, Timothy B.; Yang, Ke

2016-01-01

Copper-bearing stainless steel scaffolds with two different structures (Body Centered Cubic and Gyroid labyrinth) at two solid fractions (25% and 40%) were fabricated from both 316L powder and a mixture of 316L and elemental Cu powder using selective laser melting, and relative 316L scaffolds were served as control group. After processing, the antimicrobial testing demonstrated that the 316L-Cu scaffolds presented excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and the cell viability assay indicated that there was no cytotoxic effect of 316L-Cu scaffolds on rat marrow mesenchymal stem cells. As such, these have the potential to reduce implant-associated infections. The Cu was also found to homogeneously distribute within the microstructure by scanning electronic microcopy. The addition of Cu would not significantly affect its strength and stiffness compared to 316L scaffold, and the stiffness of all the scaffolds (3-20GPa) is similar to that of bone and much less than that of bulk stainless steel. Consequently, fabrication of such low stiffness porous structures, especially coupled with the addition of antimicrobial Cu, may provide a new direction for medical stainless steels. - Highlights: • 316L-Cu scaffolds were fabricated by using selective laser melting (SLM). • 316L-Cu scaffolds showed satisfied antimicrobial activities. • 316L-Cu scaffolds have no cytotoxic effect on normal cells. • Other properties of 316L-Cu scaffolds were similar to 316L scaffolds. • 316L-Cu scaffolds have the potential to be used in orthopedic applications.

High storage capacity and separation selectivity for C2hydrocarbons over methane in the metal-organic framework Cu-TDPAT

KAUST Repository

Liu, Kang; Ma, Dingxuan; Li, Baiyan; Li, Yi; Yao, Kexin; Zhang, Zhijuan; Han, Yu; Shi, Zhan

2014-01-01

We report on the storage capacity and separation selectivity of an rht-type metal-organic framework, Cu-TDPAT [TDPAT = 2,4,6-tris(3,5-dicarboxylphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine], for C2hydrocarbons over CH4. Henry's constant, the isosteric heat of adsorption and the ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity were calculated based on single-component sorption isotherms. Theoretical calculations indicate that both the open metal sites and the Lewis basic sites have strong interactions with the C2molecules. The combination of these two kinds of sites lead to the highest C2H2-CH4selectivity of 127.1 as well as record high values for C2H4adsorption enthalpies. To mimic real-world conditions, breakthrough experiments were conducted on an equimolar four-component mixture containing C2H2, C2H4, C2H6and CH4at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. Our results show that Cu-TDPAT is a promising candidate for CH4capture and purification. This journal is

High storage capacity and separation selectivity for C2hydrocarbons over methane in the metal-organic framework Cu-TDPAT

KAUST Repository

Liu, Kang

2014-01-01

We report on the storage capacity and separation selectivity of an rht-type metal-organic framework, Cu-TDPAT [TDPAT = 2,4,6-tris(3,5-dicarboxylphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine], for C2hydrocarbons over CH4. Henry\\'s constant, the isosteric heat of adsorption and the ideal adsorbed solution theory selectivity were calculated based on single-component sorption isotherms. Theoretical calculations indicate that both the open metal sites and the Lewis basic sites have strong interactions with the C2molecules. The combination of these two kinds of sites lead to the highest C2H2-CH4selectivity of 127.1 as well as record high values for C2H4adsorption enthalpies. To mimic real-world conditions, breakthrough experiments were conducted on an equimolar four-component mixture containing C2H2, C2H4, C2H6and CH4at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. Our results show that Cu-TDPAT is a promising candidate for CH4capture and purification. This journal is

Combining selective sequential extractions, X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy, and X-Ray Powder Diffraction for Cu (II speciation in soil and mineral phases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana Minkina

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Interaction of Cu (II ions with the matrix of soil and mineral phases of layered silicates was assessed by the Miller method of selective sequential fractionation and a set of synchrotron X-ray methods, including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES. It was shown that the input of Cu into Calcic Chernozem in the form of monoxide (CuO and salt (Cu(NO32 affected the transformation of Cu compounds and their affinity for metal-bearing phases. It was found that the contamination of soil with a soluble Cu(II salt increased the bioavailability of the metal and the role of organic matter and Fe oxides in the fixation and retention of Cu. During the incubation of soil with Cu monoxide, the content of the metal in the residual fractions increased, which was related to the possible entry of Cu in the form of isomorphic impurities into silicates, as well as to the incomplete dissolution of exogenic compounds at the high level of their input into the soil. A mechanism for the structural transformation of minerals was revealed, which showed that ion exchange processes result in the sorption of Cu (II ions from the saturated solution by active sites on the internal surface of the lattice of dioctahedral aluminosilicates. Surface hydroxyls at the octahedral aluminum atom play the main role. X-ray diagnostics revealed that excess Cu(II ions are removed from the system due to the formation and precipitation of coarsely crystalline Cu(NO3(OH3.

Validation of the catalytic properties of Cu-Os/13X using single fixed bed reactor in selective catalytic reduction of NO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Kwang Seok; Woo, Seong Ihl

2007-01-01

Catalytic decomposition of NO over Cu-Os/13X has been carried out in a tubular fixed bed reactor at atmospheric pressure and the results were compared with literature data performed by high-throughput screening (HTS). The activity and durability of Cu-Os/13X prepared by conventional ion-exchange method have been investigated in the presence of H 2 O and SO 2 . It was found that Cu-Os/13X prepared by ion-exchange shows a high activity in a wide temperature range in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with C 3 H 6 compared to Cu/13X, proving the existence of more NO adsorption site on Cu-Os/13X. However, Cu-Os/13X exhibited low activity in the presence of water, and was quite different from the result reported in literature. SO 2 resistance is also low and does not recover its original activity when the SO 2 was blocked in the feed gas stream. This result suggested that catalytic activity between combinatorial screening and conventional testing should be compared to confirm the validity of high-throughput screening

The effectiveness of interventions using electronic reminders to improve adherence to chronic medication: a systematic review of the literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vervloet, M.; Linn, A.J.; van Weert, J.C.M.; de Bakker, D.H.; Bouvy, M.L.; van Dijk, L.

2012-01-01

Background: Many patients experience difficulties in adhering to long-term treatment. Although patients' reasons for not being adherent are diverse, one of the most commonly reported barriers is forgetfulness. Reminding patients to take their medication may provide a solution. Electronic reminders

The effectiveness of interventions using electronic reminders to improve adherence to chronic medication: a systematic review of the literature.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vervloet, M.; Linn, A.J.; Weert, J.C.M. van; Bakker, D.H. de; Bouvy, M.L.; Dijk, L. van

2012-01-01

Background: Many patients experience difficulties in adhering to long-term treatment. Although patients’ reasons for not being adherent are diverse, one of the most commonly reported barriers is forgetfulness. Reminding patients to take their medication may provide a solution. Electronic reminders

Highly selective adsorption of organic dyes containing sulphonic groups using Cu{sub 2}(OH){sub 3}NO{sub 3} nanosheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, Jincan; Wang, Honghong; Niu, Helin, E-mail: niuhelin@ahu.edu.cn; Chen, Jingshuai; Song, Jiming; Mao, Changjie; Zhang, Shengyi [Anhui University, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (China); Gao, Yuanhao [Xuchang University, Institute of Surface Micro and Nano Materials (China); Chen, Changle [University of Science and Technology of China, CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry (China)

2016-09-15

In this study, we report a facile approach to synthesize Cu{sub 2}(OH){sub 3}NO{sub 3} nanosheets via simply sonochemical method, which showed high efficiency and selectivity towards the adsorption of organic dyes containing sulphonic groups. The structure and morphology of the nanosheets were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption isotherms, particle size and zeta potential analysis. The adsorption results indicated that the equilibrium data coincide very well with Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum adsorption capacities for Congo red, methyl blue and methyl orange were 1864, 1270 and 959 mg g{sup −1}, respectively. The kinetic data can be explained by pseudo-second-order model. The Cu{sub 2}(OH){sub 3}NO{sub 3} nanosheets also demonstrated high selectivity towards the adsorption of dyes containing sulphonic groups from mixed dye solutions. The rational mechanism of adsorption was attributed to hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attractions and ion exchanges between the dye molecules and Cu{sub 2}(OH){sub 3}NO{sub 3} in the adsorption process.

Synthesis, characterization and catalytic property of CuO and Ag/CuO nanoparticles for the epoxidation of styrene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lashanizadegan, Maryam; Erfaninia, Nasrin [Alzahra University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-11-15

CuO nanorodes, CuO nanoplates and Ag/CuO nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of polyethylene glycol by depositional in alkaline environment. Oxide nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectra (FT-IR). CuO and Ag/CuO nanoparticles show high catalytic activity for the selective epoxidation of styrene to styrene oxide by TBHP. Under the optimized reaction condition, the oxidation of styrene catalyzed by CuO nanorods gave 100% conversion with 60 and 35% styrene oxide and benzaldehyde, respectively. Ag/CuO gave 99% conversion and styrene oxide (71%) and benzaldehyde (12%) being the major product.

Alkali resistivity of Cu based selective catalytic reduction catalysts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Putluru, Siva Sankar Reddy; Jensen, Anker Degn; Riisager, Anders

2012-01-01

The deactivation of V2O5–WO3–TiO2, Cu–HZSM5 and Cu–HMOR plate type monolithic catalysts was investigated when exposed to KCl aerosols in a bench-scale reactor. Fresh and exposed catalysts were characterized by selective catalytic reduction (SCR) activity measurements, scanning electron microscope......–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) and NH3-temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD). 95% deactivation was observed for the V2O5–WO3–TiO2 catalyst, while the Cu–HZSM5 and Cu–HMOR catalysts deactivated only 58% and 48%, respectively, after 1200 h KCl exposure. SEM analysis of the KCl aerosol exposed...... catalysts revealed that the potassium salt not only deposited on the catalyst surface, but also penetrated into the catalyst wall. Thus, the K/M ratio (M = V or Cu) was high on V2O5–WO3–TiO2 catalyst and comparatively less on Cu–HZSM5 and Cu–HMOR catalysts. NH3-TPD revealed that the KCl exposed Cu–HZSM5...

Effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on response rate to a complex postal survey: randomised controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Minimising participant non-response in postal surveys helps to maximise the generalisability of the inferences made from the data collected. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of questionnaire length, personalisation and reminder type on postal survey response rate and quality and to compare the cost-effectiveness of the alternative survey strategies. Methods In a pilot study for a population study of travel behaviour, physical activity and the environment, 1000 participants sampled from the UK edited electoral register were randomly allocated using a 2 × 2 factorial design to receive one of four survey packs: a personally addressed long (24 page) questionnaire pack, a personally addressed short (15 page) questionnaire pack, a non-personally addressed long questionnaire pack or a non-personally addressed short questionnaire pack. Those who did not return a questionnaire were stratified by initial randomisation group and further randomised to receive either a full reminder pack or a reminder postcard. The effects of the survey design factors on response were examined using multivariate logistic regression. Results An overall response rate of 17% was achieved. Participants who received the short version of the questionnaire were more likely to respond (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.07). In those participants who received a reminder, personalisation of the survey pack and reminder also increased the odds of response (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.95). Item non-response was relatively low, but was significantly higher in the long questionnaire than the short (9.8% vs 5.8%; p = .04). The cost per additional usable questionnaire returned of issuing the reminder packs was £23.1 compared with £11.3 for the reminder postcards. Conclusions In contrast to some previous studies of shorter questionnaires, this trial found that shortening a relatively lengthy questionnaire significantly increased the response. Researchers should consider the trade off

Study on the Selective Laser Melting of CuSn10 Powder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chengyang Deng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The selective laser melting of tin bronze (CuSn10 powder was performed with a laser energy density intensity level at 210, 220, and 230 J/mm2. The composition was homogeneous with almost all tin dissolved into the matrix. The grain size of the obtained alpha copper phase was around 5 μm. The best properties were achieved at 220 J/mm2 laser energy density with a density of 8.82 g/cm3, hardness of 78.2 HRB (Rockwell Hardness measured on the B scale, yield strength of 399 MPa, tensile strength of 490 MPa, and an elongation that reached 19%. “Balling effect” appeared and resulted into a decrease of properties when the laser energy density increased to 230 J/mm2.

Distinct effects of reminding mortality and physical pain on the default-mode activity and activity underlying self-reflection.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Zhenhao; Han, Shihui

2018-06-01

Behavioral research suggests that reminding both mortality and negative affect influences self-related thoughts. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we tested the hypothesis that reminders of mortality and physical pain decrease brain activity underlying self-related thoughts. Three groups of adults underwent priming procedures during which they answered questions pertaining to mortality, physical pain, or leisure time, respectively. Before and after priming, participants performed personality trait judgments on oneself or a celebrity, identified the font of words, or passively viewed a fixation. The default-mode activity and neural activity underlying self-reflection were identified by contrasting viewing a fixation vs. font judgment and trait judgments on oneself vs. a celebrity, respectively. The analyses of the pre-priming functional MRI (fMRI) data identified the default-mode activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), ventral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and parahippocampal gyrus, and the activity underlying instructed self-reflection in both the ventral and dorsal regions of the MPFC. The analyses of the post-priming fMRI data revealed that, relative to leisure time priming, reminding mortality significantly reduced the default-mode PCC activity, and reminding physical pain significantly decreased the dorsal MPFC activity during instructed self-reflection. Our findings suggest distinct neural underpinnings of the effect of reminding morality and aversive emotion on default-mode and instructed self-reflection.

Enhancement in CO2 Adsorption Capacity and Selectivity in the Chalcogenide Aerogel CuSb2S4 by Post-synthetic Modification with LiCl

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Ejaz

2015-09-11

The new chalcogel CuSb2S4 was obtained by reacting Cu(OAc)2·H2O with KSbS2 in a water/formamide mixture at room temperature. In order to modify the gas adsorption capacity the synthesized CuSb2S4 aerogel was loaded with different amounts of LiCl. CO2 adsorption measurements on the CuSb2S4 aerogel before and after treatment with LiCl showed more than three times increased uptake of the LiCl-modified chalcogel. The selectivities of the gas pairs CO2/H2 and CO2/CH4 in the LiCl-treated chalcogel are 235 and 105 respectively and amongst the highest reported for chalcogenide-based aerogels. In comparison with other porous materials like zeolites, activated carbon and most of the Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) or Porous Organic Frameworks (POFs), our synthesized aerogels show good air and moisture stability. Although, the CO2 storage capacity of our aerogels is relatively low, however the selectivity of CO2 over H2 or CH4 in LiCl-loaded aerogels are higher than in zeolites, activated carbon as well as some MOFs like Cu-BTC and MOF-5 etc.

The hidden costs of nudging: Experimental evidence from reminders in fundraising

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Mette Trier; Gravert, Christina

We document the hidden costs of a popular nudge and show how these costs distort policy making when neglected. In a field experiment with a charity, we find reminders increasing intended behavior (donations), but also increasing avoidance behavior (unsubscriptions from the mailing list). We develop...

CFA-13 - a bifunctional perfluorinated metal-organic framework featuring active Cu(i) and Cu(ii) sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritzsche, J; Denysenko, D; Grzywa, M; Volkmer, D

2017-11-07

The synthesis and crystal structure of the mixed-valent perfluorinated metal-organic framework (Me 2 NH 2 )[CFA-13] (Coordination Framework Augsburg University-13), (Me 2 NH 2 )[CuCu(tfpc) 4 ] (H 2 -tfpc = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylic acid) is described. The copper-containing MOF crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system within the space group P2 1 /n (no. 14) and the unit cell parameters are as follows: a = 22.3887(19), b = 13.6888(8), c = 21.1804(13) Å, β = 90.495(3)°, V = 6491.0(8) Å 3 . (Me 2 NH 2 )[CFA-13] features a porous 3-D structure constructed from two types of secondary building units (SBUs). Besides novel trinuclear [Cu(pz) 4 ] - coordination units, the network also exhibits Cu(ii) paddle-wheel SBUs. (Me 2 NH 2 )[CFA-13] is fully characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, variable temperature powder X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, photoluminescence, gas sorption measurements and pulse chemisorption experiments. M[CFA-13] (M = K + , Cs + ) frameworks were prepared by postsynthetic exchange of interchannel dimethylammonium cations. Moreover, it was shown that CO molecules can be selectively bound at Cu(i) sites of [Cu(pz) 4 ] - units, whereas Cu(ii) paddle-wheel units bind selectively NH 3 molecules.

Selective enrichment and determination of monoamine neurotransmitters by CU(II) immobilized magnetic solid phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Maofang; Wang, Chaozhan; Wei, Yinmao

2016-01-15

In this paper, iminodiacetic acid-Cu(II) functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanoparticles were prepared and used as new adsorbents for magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE) of six monoamine neurotransmitters (MNTs) from rabbit plasma. The selective enrichment of MNTs at pH 5.0 was motivated by the specific coordination interaction between amino groups of MNTs and the immobilized Cu(II). The employed weak acidic extraction condition avoided the oxidation of MNTs, and thus facilitated operation and ensured higher recoveries. Under optimal conditions, the recoveries of six MNTs from rabbit plasma were in the range of 83.9-109.4%, with RSD of 2.0-10.0%. When coupled the Cu(II) immobilized MSPE with high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection, the method exhibited relatively lower detection limits than the previously reported methods, and the method was successfully used to determine the endogenous MNTs in rabbit plasma. The proposed method has potential application for the determination of MNTs in biological samples. Also, the utilization of coordination interaction to improve the selectivity might open another way to selectively enrich small alkaloids from complex samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preliminary study on the corrosion resistance, antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of selective-laser-melted Ti6Al4V-xCu alloys.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Sai; Lu, Yanjin; Wu, Songquan; Liu, Lingling; He, Mengjiao; Zhao, Chaoqian; Gan, Yiliang; Lin, Junjie; Luo, Jiasi; Xu, Xiongcheng; Lin, Jinxin

2017-03-01

In this study, a series of Cu-bearing Ti6Al4V-xCu (x=0, 2, 4, 6wt%) alloys (shorten by Ti6Al4V, 2C, 4C, and 6C, respectively.) with antibacterial function were successfully fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) technology with mixed spherical powders of Cu and Ti6Al4V for the first time. In order to systematically investigate the effects of Cu content on the microstructure, phase constitution, corrosion resistance, antibacterial properties and cytotoxicity of SLMed Ti6Al4V-xCu alloys, experiments including XRD, SEM-EDS, electrochemical measurements, antibacterial tests and cytotoxicity tests were conducted with comparison to SLMed Ti6Al4V alloy (Ti6Al4V). Microstructural observations revealed that Cu had completely fused into the Ti6Al4V alloy, and presented in the form of Ti 2 Cu phase at ambient temperature. With Cu content increase, the density of the alloy gradually decreased, and micropores were obviously found in the alloy. Electrochemical measurements showed that corrosion resistance of Cu-bearing alloys were stronger than Cu-free alloy. Antibacterial tests demonstrated that 4C and 6C alloys presented strong and stable antibacterial property against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) compared to the Ti6Al4V and 2C alloy. In addition, similar to the Ti6Al4V alloy, the Cu-bearing alloys also exerted good cytocompatibility to the Bone Marrow Stromal Cells (BMSCs) from Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Based on those results, the preliminary study verified that it was feasible to fabricated antibacterial Ti6Al4V-xCu alloys direct by SLM processing mixed commercial Ti6Al4V and Cu powder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Free and cued recall memory in Parkinson's disease associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Costa

Full Text Available The hypothesis has been advanced that memory disorders in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD are related to either retrieval or consolidation failure. However, the characteristics of the memory impairments of PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment have not been clarified. This study was aimed at investigating whether memory deficits in PD patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (PDaMCI are due to failure of retrieval or consolidation processes. Sixteen individuals with PDaMCI, 20 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment without PD (aMCINPD, and 20 healthy controls were recruited. Participants were administered the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. An index of cueing was computed for each subject to capture the advantage in retrieval of cued compared to free recall. Individuals with PDaMCI performed worse than healthy controls on the free recall (p0.10 task, and they performed better than aMCINPD subjects on both recall measures (p0.10 but it was significantly higher than that of the aMCINPD sample (p<0.01. Moreover, PD patients' performance on free recall trials was significantly predicted by scores on a test investigating executive functions (i.e., the Modified Card Sorting Test; p = 0.042. Findings of the study document that, in subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment associated to PD, episodic memory impairment is related to retrieval rather than to consolidation failure. The same data suggest that, in these individuals, memory deficits might be due to altered frontal-related executive functioning.

Positive stereotypes, negative outcomes: Reminders of the positive components of complementary gender stereotypes impair performance in counter-stereotypical tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahalon, Rotem; Shnabel, Nurit; Becker, Julia C

2018-04-01

Gender stereotypes are complementary: Women are perceived to be communal but not agentic, whereas men are perceived to be agentic but not communal. The present research tested whether exposure to reminders of the positive components of these gender stereotypes can lead to stereotype threat and subsequent performance deficits on the complementary dimension. Study 1 (N = 116 female participants) revealed that compared to a control/no-stereotype condition, exposure to reminders of the stereotype about women's communality (but not to reminders of the stereotype about women's beauty) impaired women's math performance. In Study 2 (N = 86 male participants), reminders of the stereotype about men's agency (vs. a control/no-stereotype condition) impaired men's performance in a test of socio-emotional abilities. Consistent with previous research on stereotype threat, in both studies the effect was evident among participants with high domain identification. These findings extend our understanding of the potentially adverse implications of seemingly positive gender stereotypes. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

A novel nonenzymatic amperometric hydrogen peroxide sensor based on CuO@Cu2O nanowires embedded into poly(vinyl alcohol).

Science.gov (United States)

Chirizzi, Daniela; Guascito, Maria Rachele; Filippo, Emanuela; Tepore, Antonio

2016-01-15

A new, very simple, rapid and inexpensive nonenzymatic amperometric sensor for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) detection is proposed. It is based on the immobilization of cupric/cuprous oxide core shell nanowires (CuO@Cu2O-NWs) in a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix directly drop casted on a glassy carbon electrode surface to make a CuO@Cu2O core shell like NWs PVA embedded (CuO@Cu2O-NWs/PVA) sensor. CuO nanowires with mean diameters of 120-170nm and length in the range 2-5μm were grown by a simple catalyst-free thermal oxidation process based on resistive heating of pure copper wires at ambient conditions. The oxidation process of the copper wire surface led to the formation of a three layered structure: a thick Cu2O bottom layer, a CuO thin intermediate layer and CuO nanowires. CuO nanowires were carefully scratched from Cu2O layer with a sharp knife, dispersed into ethanol and sonicated. Then, the NWs were embedded in PVA matrix. The morphological and spectroscopic characterization of synthesized CuO-NWs and CuO@Cu2O-NWs/PVA were performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area diffraction pattern (SAD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Moreover a complete electrochemical characterization of these new CuO@Cu2O-NWs/PVA modified glassy carbon electrodes was performed by Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Cronoamperometry (CA) in phosphate buffer (pH=7; I=0.2) to investigate the sensing properties of this material against H2O2. The electrochemical performances of proposed sensors as high sensitivity, fast response, reproducibility and selectivity make them suitable for the quantitative determination of hydrogen peroxide substrate in batch analysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Indigo Carmine-Cu complex probe exhibiting dual colorimetric/fluorimetric sensing for selective determination of mono hydrogen phosphate ion and its logic behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Tavallali, Hossein; Deilamy-Rad, Gohar; Moaddeli, Ali; Asghari, Khadijeh

2017-08-01

A new selective probe based on copper complex of Indigo Carmine (IC-Cu2) for colorimetric, naked-eye, and fluorimetric recognition of mono hydrogen phosphate (MHP) ion in H2O/DMSO (4:1 v/v, 1.0 mmol L- 1 HEPES buffer solution pH 7.5) was developed. Detection limit of HPO42 - determination, achieved by fluorimetric and 3lorimetric method, are 0.071 and 1.46 μmol L- 1, respectively. Potential, therefore is clearly available in IC-Cu2 complex to detect HPO42 - in micromolar range via dual visible color change and fluorescence response. Present method shows high selectivity toward HPO42 - over other phosphate species and other anions and was successfully utilized for analysis of P2O5 content of a fertilizer sample. The results obtained by proposed chemosensor presented good agreement with those obtained the colorimetric reference method. INHIBIT and IMPLICATION logic gates operating at molecular level have been achieved using Cu2 + and HPO42 - as chemical inputs and UV-Vis absorbance signal as output.

Bimetallic AgCu/Cu2O hybrid for the synergetic adsorption of iodide from solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Ping; Liu, Ying; Liu, Xiaodong; Wang, Yuechan; Liang, Jie; Zhou, Qihang; Dai, Yuexuan; Jiao, Yan; Chen, Shouwen; Yang, Yi

2017-08-01

To further improve the capacity of Cu 2 O to absorb I - anions from solution, and to understand the difference between the adsorption mechanisms of Ag/Cu 2 O and Cu/Cu 2 O adsorbents, bimetallic AgCu was doped into Cu 2 O through a facile solvothermal route. Samples were characterized and employed to adsorb I - anions under different experimental conditions. The results show that the Cu content can be tuned by adding different volumes of Ag sols. After doping bimetallic AgCu, the adsorption capacity of the samples can be increased from 0.02 mmol g -1 to 0.52 mmol g -1 . Moreover, the optimal adsorption is reached within only 240 min. Meanwhile, the difference between the adsorption mechanisms of Ag/Cu 2 O and Cu/Cu 2 O adsorbents was verified, and the cooperative adsorption mechanism of the AgCu/Cu 2 O hybrid was proposed and verified. In addition, the AgCu/Cu 2 O hybrid showed excellent selectivity, e.g., its adsorption efficiencies are 85.1%, 81.9%, 85.9% and 85.7% in the presence of the Cl - , CO 3 2- , SO 4 2- and NO 3 - competitive anions, respectively. Furthermore, the AgCu/Cu 2 O hybrid can worked well in other harsh environments (e.g., acidic, alkaline and seawater environments). Therefore, this study is expected to promote the development of Cu 2 O into a highly efficient adsorbent for the removal of iodide from solution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Particle size effects in the catalytic electroreduction of CO₂ on Cu nanoparticles.

Science.gov (United States)

Reske, Rulle; Mistry, Hemma; Behafarid, Farzad; Roldan Cuenya, Beatriz; Strasser, Peter

2014-05-14

A study of particle size effects during the catalytic CO2 electroreduction on size-controlled Cu nanoparticles (NPs) is presented. Cu NP catalysts in the 2-15 nm mean size range were prepared, and their catalytic activity and selectivity during CO2 electroreduction were analyzed and compared to a bulk Cu electrode. A dramatic increase in the catalytic activity and selectivity for H2 and CO was observed with decreasing Cu particle size, in particular, for NPs below 5 nm. Hydrocarbon (methane and ethylene) selectivity was increasingly suppressed for nanoscale Cu surfaces. The size dependence of the surface atomic coordination of model spherical Cu particles was used to rationalize the experimental results. Changes in the population of low-coordinated surface sites and their stronger chemisorption were linked to surging H2 and CO selectivities, higher catalytic activity, and smaller hydrocarbon selectivity. The presented activity-selectivity-size relations provide novel insights in the CO2 electroreduction reaction on nanoscale surfaces. Our smallest nanoparticles (~2 nm) enter the ab initio computationally accessible size regime, and therefore, the results obtained lend themselves well to density functional theory (DFT) evaluation and reaction mechanism verification.

Reminder: Mandatory Computer Security Course

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2011-01-01

Just like any other organization, CERN is permanently under attack – even right now. Consequently it's important to be vigilant about security risks, protecting CERN's reputation - and your work. The availability, integrity and confidentiality of CERN's computing services and the unhindered operation of its accelerators and experiments come down to the combined efforts of the CERN Security Team and you. In order to remain par with the attack trends, the Security Team regularly reminds CERN users about the computer security risks, and about the rules for using CERN’s computing facilities. Therefore, a new dedicated basic computer security course has been designed informing you about the “Do’s” and “Dont’s” when using CERN's computing facilities. This course is mandatory for all person owning a CERN computer account and must be followed once every three years. Users who have never done the course, or whose course needs to be renewe...

REMINDER: Saved Leave Scheme (SLS)

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

Transfer of leave to saved leave accounts Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'* annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No 22B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). We remind you that unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of the leave year accounts is transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. Therefore, staff members have no administrative steps to take. In addition, the transfer, which eliminates the risk of omitting to request leave transfers and rules out calculation errors in transfer requests, will be clearly shown in the list of leave transactions that can be consulted in EDH from October 2003 onwards. Furthermore, this automatic leave transfer optimizes staff members' chances of benefiting from a saved leave bonus provided that they ar...

Reminder: Swiss and French cards

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

Communication from the HR Department to members of personnel holding an employment or association contract, above 50% and for more than 3 months, with the Organization. The HR Department would like to remind all members of personnel concerned that they are obliged to: • hold a valid Swiss  Légitimation card AND a valid French card (“Titre de séjour spécial” or “attestation de fonctions”) at all times during the exercise of their functions in the Organization; • return these documents as soon as their functions in the Organization cease. Not following these rules could be prejudicial to the Organization and appropriate measures may be taken towards the member of personnel concerned. Information and procedures concerning Swiss and French cards (first application, renewal, theft/loss, etc.) are available in the Admin e-guide. Users and Unpaid Associates must contact the Users Office HR Department Tel.: 729...

Swiss and French cards - Reminder

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2011-01-01

Communication from the HR Department to members of personnel holding an employment or association contract, above 50% and for more than 3 months, with the Organization. The HR Department would like to remind all members of the personnel concerned that they are obliged to: hold a valid Swiss Légitimation card AND a valid French card (“Titre de séjour spécial” or “attestation de fonctions”) at all times during the exercise of their functions in the Organization; return these documents as soon as their functions in the Organization cease. Not following these rules could be prejudicial to the Organization and appropriate measures may be taken with respect to the member of the personnel concerned. Information and procedures concerning Swiss and French cards (first application, renewal, theft/loss, etc.) are available in the Admin e-guide: https://cern.ch/admin-eguide/cartes/proc_cartes_home.asp Users and Unpaid Associates must ...

Hydrogen cyanide formation in selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides over Cu/ZSM-5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radtke, F; Koeppel, R; Baiker, A [Department of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, (Switzerland)

1994-01-06

Hydrogen cyanide is formed over Cu/ZSM-5 during the selective catalytic reduction of NO[sub x] by either propylene or ethylene in the temperature range 450-600 K. Under the reaction conditions used (reactant feed: 973 ppm NO, 907 ppm propene or 1448 ppm ethylene, 2% oxygen, W/F=0.1 g s cm[sup -3]), the concentration of hydrogen cyanide reaches 20, respectively, 30 ppm, depending on whether ethylene or propene are used as hydrocarbons. In addition, significant N[sub 2]O formation is observed at temperatures lower than 700 K, independent of the hydrocarbon used

Reducing drug–herb interaction risk with a computerized reminder system

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Sheng-Shing; Tsai, Chiu-Lin; Tu, Ching-Yeh; Hsieh, Ching-Liang

2015-01-01

Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine are both popular in Taiwan. Approximately 14.1% of Taiwanese residents use Western drugs and Chinese herbs concurrently; therefore, drug–herb interaction is critical to patient safety. This paper presents a new procedure for reducing the risk of drug interactions. Methods Hospital computer systems are modified to ensure that drug–herb interactions are automatically detected when a TCM practitioner is writing a prescription. A pop-up reminder appears, warning of interactions, and the practitioner may adjust doses, delete herbs, or leave the prescription unchanged. A pharmacist will receive interaction information through the system and provide health education to the patient. Results During the 2011–2013 study period, 256 patients received 891 herbal prescriptions with potential drug–herb interactions. Three of the 50 patients who concurrently used ginseng and antidiabetic drugs manifested hypoglycemia (fasting blood sugar level ≤70 mg/dL). Conclusion Drug–herb interactions can cause adverse reactions. A computerized reminder system can enable TCM practitioners to reduce the risk of drug–herb interactions. In addition, health education for patients is crucial in avoiding adverse reaction by the interactions. PMID:25733840

Design and implementation of a children vaccination reminder system based on short message service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan Ghazisaeedi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Most problems related to quality of care and patient safety are related to human negligence. One of the causes of these problems is forgetting to do something. This problem can be avoided with information technology in many cases. Some forgotten are very important. Among these is failure to comply with vaccination schedule by parents that can result in inappropriate outcomes. In this study, we developed and evaluated a SMS reminder system for regular and timely vaccination of children. Methods: In this developmental-applied research, firstly, a child vaccination reminder system was designed and implemented to help parents reduce the forgetfulness. This system based on the child's vaccination history and the date of birth, offer time and type of future vaccines. Then the parents of 27 children, that their vaccination was between 22 June and 21 August 2015, referred to Children's Medical Center, were sent text messages by using this system. We evaluated the accuracy of the system logic by using some scenarios. In addition, we evaluated parents' satisfaction with the system using a questionnaire. Results: In all cases but one, the system proposed the type and date of future children vaccines correctly. All the parents who have received text messages had good perception and satisfaction on the majority of questions (total mean score of 4.15 out of 5. Most parents (4.92 out of 5 stated that using the system to remind their visit for child immunization was helpful and willing to offer the system to their friends and other families. Conclusion: Using the short message system is beneficial for parents to remind their children’s vaccination time and increases their satisfaction. So, it can be considered as an important and essential tool in providing healthcare services. SMS is an easy, cheap and effective way to improve the quality of care services.

Synergy of CuO and CeO2 combination for mercury oxidation under low-temperature selective catalytic reduction atmosphere

KAUST Repository

Li, Hailong

2016-07-19

Synergy for low temperature Hg0 oxidation under selective catalytic reduction (SCR) atmosphere was achieved when copper oxides and cerium oxides were combined in a CuO-CeO2/TiO2 (CuCeTi) catalyst. Hg0 oxidation efficiency as high as 99.0% was observed on the CuCeTi catalyst at 200 °C, even the gas hourly space velocity was extremely high. To analyze the synergistic effect, comparisons of catalyst performance in the presence of different SCR reaction gases were systematically conducted over CuO/TiO2 (CuTi), CeO2/TiO2 (CeTi) and CuCeTi catalysts prepared by sol-gel method. The interactions between copper oxides and cerium oxides in CuCeTi catalyst yielded more surface chemisorbed oxygen, and facilitated the conversion of gas-phase O2 to surface oxygen, which are favorable for Hg0 oxidation. Copper oxides in the combination interacted with NO forming more chemisorbed oxygen for Hg0 oxidation in the absence of gas-phase O2. Cerium oxides in the combination promoted Hg0 oxidation through enhancing the transformations of NO to NO2. In the absence of NO, NH3 exhibited no inhibitive effect on Hg0 oxidation, because enough Lewis acid sites due to the combination of copper oxides and cerium oxides scavenged the competitive adsorption between NH3 and Hg0. In the presence of NO, although NH3 lowered Hg0 oxidation rate through inducing reduction of oxidized mercury, complete recovery of Hg0 oxidation activity over the CuCeTi catalyst was quickly achieved after cutting off NH3. This study revealed the synergistic effect of the combination of copper oxides and cerium oxides on Hg0 oxidation, and explored the involved mechanisms. Such knowledge would help obtaining maximum Hg0 oxidation co-benefit from SCR units in coal-fired power plants.

Healthy dining. Subtle diet reminders at the point of purchase increase low-calorie food choices among both chronic and current dieters.

Science.gov (United States)

Papies, Esther K; Veling, Harm

2013-02-01

There is a growing consensus that our food-rich living environment contributes to rising numbers of people with overweight and obesity. Low-cost, effective intervention tools are needed to facilitate healthy eating behavior, especially when eating away from home. Therefore, we present a field experiment in a restaurant that tested whether providing subtle environmental diet reminders increases low-calorie food choices among both chronic and current dieters. For half of the participants, the menu was supplemented with diet-related words, as reminders of healthy eating and dieting. We recorded customers' choices of low-calorie or high-calorie items from the menu, and we assessed chronic and current dieting. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that diet reminders increased choices for low-calorie foods, among both chronic and current dieters. After a diet reminder, around half of dieters made a healthy menu choice. This study demonstrates the efficacy of providing subtle diet reminders as a low-cost practical intervention to increase low-calorie food choices among weight-concerned individuals, who are motivated to regulate their eating behavior but have been found to often fail in food-rich environments. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The symbolic power of money: reminders of money alter social distress and physical pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xinyue; Vohs, Kathleen D; Baumeister, Roy F

2009-06-01

People often get what they want from the social system, and that process is aided by social popularity or by having money. Money can thus possibly substitute for social acceptance in conferring the ability to obtain benefits from the social system. Moreover, past work has suggested that responses to physical pain and social distress share common underlying mechanisms. Six studies tested relationships among reminders of money, social exclusion, and physical pain. Interpersonal rejection and physical pain caused desire for money to increase. Handling money (compared with handling paper) reduced distress over social exclusion and diminished the physical pain of immersion in hot water. Being reminded of having spent money, however, intensified both social distress and physical pain.

The effect of 3 wt.% Cu addition on the microstructure, tribological property and corrosion resistance of CoCrW alloys fabricated by selective laser melting.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jiasi; Wu, Songquan; Lu, Yanjin; Guo, Sai; Yang, Yang; Zhao, Chaoqian; Lin, Junjie; Huang, Tingting; Lin, Jinxin

2018-03-19

Microstructure, tribological property and corrosion resistance of orthopedic implant materials CoCrW-3 wt.% Cu fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) process were systematically investigated with CoCrW as control. Equaxied γ-phase together with the inside {111}  type twin and platelet ε-phase was found in both the Cu-bearing and Cu-free alloys. Compared to the Cu-free alloy, the introduction of 3 wt.% Cu significantly increased the volume fraction of the ε-phase. In both alloys, the hardness of ε-phase zone was rather higher (~4 times) than that of γ-phase zone. The wear factor of 3 wt.% Cu-bearing alloy possessed smaller wear factor, although it had higher friction coefficient compared with Cu-free alloys. The ε-phase in the CoCr alloy would account for reducing both abrasive and fatigue wear. Moreover, the Cu-bearing alloy presented relatively higher corrosion potential E corr and lower corrosion current density I corr compared to the Cu-free alloy. Accordingly, 3 wt.% Cu addition plays a key role in enhancing the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of CoCrW alloys, which indicates that the SLM CoCrW-3Cu alloy is a promising personalized alternative for traditional biomedical implant materials.

The effect of requesting a reason for non-adherence to a guideline in a long running automated reminder system for PONV prophylaxis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kooij, Fabian O; Klok, Toni; Preckel, Benedikt; Hollmann, Markus W; Kal, Jasper E

2017-03-29

Automated reminders are employed frequently to improve guideline adherence, but limitations of automated reminders are becoming more apparent. We studied the reasons for non-adherence in the setting of automated reminders to test the hypothesis that a separate request for a reason in itself may further improve guideline adherence. In a previously implemented automated reminder system on prophylaxis for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), we included additional automated reminders requesting a reason for non-adherence. We recorded these reasons in the pre-operative screening clinic, the OR and the PACU. We compared adherence to our PONV guideline in two study groups with a historical control group. Guideline adherence on prescribing and administering PONV prophylaxis (dexamethasone and granisetron) all improved compared to the historical control group (89 vs. 82% (preason for not prescribing PONV prophylaxis was disagreement with the risk estimate by the decision support system. In the OR/PACU, the main reasons for not administering PONV prophylaxis were: 'unintended non-adherence' and 'failure to document'. In this study requesting a reason for non-adherence is associated with improved guideline adherence. The effect seems to depend on the underlying reason for non-adherence. It also illustrates the importance of human factors principles in the design of decision support. Some reasons for non-adherence may not be influenced by automated reminders.

Using Human Factors Techniques to Design Text Message Reminders for Childhood Immunization

Science.gov (United States)

Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R.; Hart, Traci; Chesser, Amy; Williams, Katherine S.; Yaghmai, Beryl; Shah-Haque, Sapna; Wittler, Robert R.

2012-01-01

This study engaged parents to develop concise, informative, and comprehensible text messages for an immunization reminder system using Human Factors techniques. Fifty parents completed a structured interview including demographics, technology questions, willingness to receive texts from their child's doctor, and health literacy. Each participant…

Photocatalytic effect of green synthesised CuO nanoparticles on selected environmental pollutants and pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Fuku, Xolile; Thovhogi, Ntevheleni; Maaza, Malik

2018-05-01

Highly crystalline irregular green synthesised CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) which are 10 nm in particle size were successfully characterised by HRSEM and AFM. EDS confirmed the main components of prepared sample which are Cu and O. Meanwhile, UV/Vis revealed the reflectance, transmittance, absorbance and the semiconducting nature of the synthesised nano-oxides. The optical band gap of CuO NPs was calculated to be 1.4 - 2.3 eV which indicates that CuO NPs can be used in metal oxide semiconductor-based devices. CuO NPs were found to be excellent photocatalysts for the degradation of methyl orange organic dye under the illumination of artificial light irradiation. The experiments demonstrated that MO in aqueous solution was more efficiently photo-degraded (65 %) using CuO NPs as photocatalysts. Further, the nanomaterials were also found to be good inhibitors of bacterial strains at both low and high concentrations of 5 - 10 mg mL-1.

Selective resputtering of bismuth in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, J. M.; McDonald, D. B.; Reiten, M. T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R. T.; Gray, K. E.

1991-10-01

We present studies using a dc magnetron in an on-axis configuration to sputter Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films from a composite target. These studies show that bismuth can be preferentially resputtered. The influence of ozone, molecular oxygen, and total pressure on the resputtering of bismuth is investigated and discussed. Ozone, in low concentrations, can dramatically affect the degree of resputtering. By comparing the effects of molecular oxygen and ozone, some insight is gained regarding the possible mechanisms of negative ion formation in the magnetron environment. Based on our results we suggest that molecular oxygen can bring about resputtering primarily by forming O+2, which collides with the target to produce energetic negative oxygen ions. In contrast, ozone may form negative ions by electron impact in the dark space above the target, giving rise to lower-energy negative ions, which can traverse the plasma unneutralized and can be stopped with an applied bias on the sample block. With no added oxidant, negative oxygen ions from the target oxygen may dominate the background resputtering. Similarity is found between our results and those for similar studies on Y-Ba-Cu-O by other workers. Bismuth in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O behaves as barium in Y-Ba-Cu-O with regards to preferential resputtering; furthermore, the response of strontium, calcium, and copper to oxygen in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O is similar to what is observed for copper in Y-Ba-Cu-O.

Selective resputtering of bismuth in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grace, J.M.; McDonald, D.B.; Reiten, M.T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R.T.; Gray, K.E.

1991-01-01

We present studies using a dc magnetron in an on-axis configuration to sputter Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films from a composite target. These studies show that bismuth can be preferentially resputtered. The influence of ozone, molecular oxygen, and total pressure on the resputtering of bismuth is investigated and discussed. Ozone, in low concentrations, can dramatically affect the degree of resputtering. By comparing the effects of molecular oxygen and ozone, some insight is gained regarding the possible mechanisms of negative ion formation in the magnetron environment. Based on our results we suggest that molecular oxygen can bring about resputtering primarily by forming O + 2 , which collides with the target to produce energetic negative oxygen ions. In contrast, ozone may form negative ions by electron impact in the dark space above the target, giving rise to lower-energy negative ions, which can traverse the plasma unneutralized and can be stopped with an applied bias on the sample block. With no added oxidant, negative oxygen ions from the target oxygen may dominate the background resputtering. Similarity is found between our results and those for similar studies on Y-Ba-Cu-O by other workers. Bismuth in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O behaves as barium in Y-Ba-Cu-O with regards to preferential resputtering; furthermore, the response of strontium, calcium, and copper to oxygen in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O is similar to what is observed for copper in Y-Ba-Cu-O

Indigo Carmine-Cu complex probe exhibiting dual colorimetric/fluorimetric sensing for selective determination of mono hydrogen phosphate ion and its logic behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavallali, Hossein; Deilamy-Rad, Gohar; Moaddeli, Ali; Asghari, Khadijeh

2017-08-05

A new selective probe based on copper complex of Indigo Carmine (IC-Cu 2 ) for colorimetric, naked-eye, and fluorimetric recognition of mono hydrogen phosphate (MHP) ion in H 2 O/DMSO (4:1v/v, 1.0mmolL -1 HEPES buffer solution pH7.5) was developed. Detection limit of HPO 4 2- determination, achieved by fluorimetric and 3 lorimetric method, are 0.071 and 1.46μmolL -1 , respectively. Potential, therefore is clearly available in IC-Cu 2 complex to detect HPO 4 2- in micromolar range via dual visible color change and fluorescence response. Present method shows high selectivity toward HPO 4 2- over other phosphate species and other anions and was successfully utilized for analysis of P 2 O 5 content of a fertilizer sample. The results obtained by proposed chemosensor presented good agreement with those obtained the colorimetric reference method. INHIBIT and IMPLICATION logic gates operating at molecular level have been achieved using Cu 2+ and HPO 4 2- as chemical inputs and UV-Vis absorbance signal as output. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A turn-on fluorescent rhodamine-acyl hydrazide for selective detection of Cu"2"+ ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Jung Won; Jeong, Hyuk; Lee, Min Hee

2017-01-01

We present a rhodamine-based probe that can detect Cu"2"+ ions via Cu"2"+-promoted hydrolysis in aqueous solutions. In solution, the probe is non-fluorescent and colorless, but gives a strong fluorescence at 586 nm and shows a color change to pink on the addition of Cu"2"+ ions. We demonstrate that the rhodamine-based probe undergoes Cu"2"+-promoted hydrolysis with a moderate reaction time (within 3 min) and provides a fluorescence off–on change, even in the presence of other competitive metal ions. The rhodamine-based probe shows a linear correlation between increasing fluorescence at 586 nm and the Cu"2"+ concentration, and can detect Cu"2"+ at nanomolar levels (10 nM) in CH_3CN:H_2O (v/v, 90:10)

Selective and Orthogonal Post-Polymerization Modification using Sulfur(VI) Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx) and Copper-Catalyzed Azide–Alkyne Cycloaddition (CuAAC) Reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oakdale, James S.; Kwisnek, Luke; Fokin, Valery V.

2016-01-01

Functional polystyrenes and polyacrylamides, containing combinations of fluorosulfate, aromatic silyl ether, and azide side chains, were used as scaffolds to demonstrate the postpolymerization modification capabilities of sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) and CuAAC chemistries. Fluorescent dyes bearing appropriate functional groups were sequentially attached to the backbone of the copolymers, quantitatively and selectively addressing their reactive partners. Furthermore, this combined SuFEx and CuAAC approach proved to be robust and versatile, allowing for a rare accomplishment: triple orthogonal functionalization of a copolymer under essentially ambient conditions without protecting groups.

A quinoline-based Cu2 + ion complex fluorescence probe for selective detection of inorganic phosphate anion in aqueous solution and its application to living cells

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Yanpeng; Wang, Peng; Fu, Jiaxin; Yao, Kun; Xu, Kuoxi; Pang, Xiaobin

2017-08-01

A quinaldine functionalized probe QP has been designed and synthesized. It exhibited selective turn-off fluorescence response toward Cu2 + ion over most of the biologically important ions at physiological pH. The binding ratio of the probe QP and Cu2 + ion was determined to be 1:1 through fluorescence titration, Job's plot and ESI-MS. The binding constant (K) of Cu2 + to probe QP was found to be 2.12 × 104 M- 1. Further, the Cu2 + ensemble of probe QP was found to respond H2PO4- and HPO42 - among other important biological anions via fluorescence turn-on response at physiological pH. Fluorescence microscopy imaging using living Hela cells showed that probe QP could be used as an effective fluorescent probe for detecting Cu2 + cation and H2PO4- and HPO42 - anions in living cells.

Electronic and postal reminders for improving immunisation coverage in children: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chachou, Martel J; Mukinda, Fidele K; Motaze, Villyen; Wiysonge, Charles S

2015-10-15

Worldwide, suboptimal immunisation coverage causes the deaths of more than one million children under five from vaccine-preventable diseases every year. Reasons for suboptimal coverage are multifactorial, and a combination of interventions is needed to improve compliance with immunisation schedules. One intervention relies on reminders, where the health system prompts caregivers to attend immunisation appointments on time or re-engages caregivers who have defaulted on scheduled appointments. We undertake this systematic review to investigate the potential of reminders using emails, phone calls, social media, letters or postcards to improve immunisation coverage in children under five. We will search for published and unpublished randomised controlled trials and non-randomised controlled trials in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Science Citation Index, WHOLIS, Clinicaltrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Platform. We will conduct screening of search results, study selection, data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment in duplicate, resolving disagreements by consensus. In addition, we will pool data from clinically homogeneous studies using random-effects meta-analysis; assess heterogeneity of effects using the χ(2) test of homogeneity; and quantify any observed heterogeneity using the I(2) statistic. This protocol does not need approval by an ethics committee because we will use publicly available data, without directly involving human participants. The results will provide updated evidence on the effects of electronic and postal reminders on immunisation coverage, and we will discuss the applicability of the findings to low and middle-income countries. We plan to disseminate review findings through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presentation at relevant conferences. In addition, we will prepare a policymaker-friendly summary using a validated format (eg, SUPPORT Summary) and disseminate this through social media and email discussion

Differential activation of amygdala, dorsal and ventral hippocampus following an exposure to a reminder ofunderwater trauma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilad eRitov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Recollection of emotional memories is attributed in part to the activation of the amygdala and the hippocampus. Recent hypothesis suggest a pivotal role for the ventral hippocampus in traumatic stress processing and emotional memory retrieval. Persistent re-experiencing and intrusive recollections are core symptoms in acute and posttraumatic stress disorders (ASD; PTSD. Such intrusive recollections are often triggered by reminders associated with the trauma.We examined the impact of exposure to a trauma reminder (under water trauma on the activation of the basolateral amygdala (BLA, dorsal and ventral hippocampus. Rats were exposed to underwater trauma and 24 hours later were re-exposed to the context of the trauma. Phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK was used as a marker for level of activation of these regions. Significant increase in ERK activation was found in the ventral hippocampus and BLA. Such pattern of activation was not found in animals exposed only to the trauma or in animals exposed only to the trauma reminder. Additionally, the dissociative pattern of activation of the ventral hippocampus sub-regions positively correlated with the activation of the BLA.Our findings suggest a specific pattern of neural activation during recollection of a trauma reminder, with a unique contribution of the ventral hippocampus. Measured 24 hrs after the exposure to the traumatic experience, the current findings relate to relatively early stages of traumatic memory consolidation. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying these initial stages may contribute to developing intervention strategies that could reduce the risk of eventually developing PTSD.

Antimicrobial activities of CuO films deposited on Cu foils by solution chemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ekthammathat, Nuengruethai [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thongtem, Titipun, E-mail: ttpthongtem@yahoo.com [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thongtem, Somchai, E-mail: schthongtem@yahoo.com [Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Materials Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

2013-07-15

Monoclinic CuO thin films on Cu foils were successfully synthesized by a simple wet chemical method in alkaline solution with the pH of 13 at room temperature for different lengths of time. The as-synthesized thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). Formation mechanism of the phase and morphologies was also discussed according to the experimental results. In this research, assemblies of pure CuO nanospindles with different orientations containing in the thin film synthesized for 2 weeks with 400 nm and 413 nm violet emissions showed better antimicrobial activity against S. aureus than E. coli.

Antimicrobial activities of CuO films deposited on Cu foils by solution chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekthammathat, Nuengruethai; Thongtem, Titipun; Thongtem, Somchai

2013-01-01

Monoclinic CuO thin films on Cu foils were successfully synthesized by a simple wet chemical method in alkaline solution with the pH of 13 at room temperature for different lengths of time. The as-synthesized thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). Formation mechanism of the phase and morphologies was also discussed according to the experimental results. In this research, assemblies of pure CuO nanospindles with different orientations containing in the thin film synthesized for 2 weeks with 400 nm and 413 nm violet emissions showed better antimicrobial activity against S. aureus than E. coli.

Selective hydrogenation of furfural to cyclopentanone over Cu-Ni-Al hydrotalcite-based catalysts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Hongyan; Zhou, Minghao; Zeng, Zuo; Xiao, Guomin; Xiao, Rui [Southeast University, Nanjing (China)

2014-04-15

A series of Cu-Ni-Al hydrotalcites derived oxides with a (Cu+Ni)/Al mole ratio of 3 with varied Cu/Ni mole ratio (from 0.017 to 0.5, with a Cu ratio of 0.0125 to 0.25) were prepared by co-precipitation method, then applied to the hydrogenation of furfural in aqueous. Their catalytic performance for liquid phase hydrogenation of furfural to prepare cyclopentanone was described in detail, considering reaction temperature, catalyst composition, reaction time and so on. The yield of cyclopentanone was influenced by the mole ratio of Cu-Ni-Al based heterogeneous catalyst and depended on the reaction conditions. The yield of cyclopentanone was up to 95.8% when the reaction was carried out under 413 K with H{sub 2} pressure of 40 bar for 8 h. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and H{sub 2} temperature-programmed reduction (H{sub 2}-TPR)

Effects of viewing ordered pictorial reminders on long-term memory in the first year of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Carver, Leslie J

2011-11-01

Previous research has shown that reminders can be effective for extending and enhancing a variety of kinds of memory in infants. We investigated the effects of viewing pictorial representations of actions that were included in imitation events used to measure long-term memory in young infants. Infants who saw the pictures of actions displayed in the order in which they comprised events showed evidence of memory for the events. Infants who saw the actions presented randomly did not. These results suggest that pictures presented during the consolidation and storage phase of memory formation can be effective reminders of events for young infants.

Cu-Cr Literature Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Need, Ryan F. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-08-09

Cu-Cr alloys are part of a class of face-centered cubic (FCC)-body-centered cubic (BCC) composites that includes similar alloys, such as Cu-Nb and Cu-Ta. When heavily deformed, these FCC-BCC materials create 'in situ' composites with a characteristic structure-nanoscale BCC filaments in a ductile FCC matrix. The strength of these composites is vastly greater than predicted by the rule of mixtures, and has been shown to be inversely proportional to the filament spacing. Lower raw materials costs suggest that Cu-Cr alloys may offer more economical solution to high-strength, high-conductivity wire than either their Nb or Ta counterparts. However, Cr is also more brittle and soluble in Cu than Nb or Ta. These qualities necessitate thermal treatments to remove solute atoms from the Cu matrix, improve conductivity, and maintain the ductility of the Cr filaments. Through the use of different thermomechanical processing routes or the addition of select dopants, alloys with strength in excess of 1 GPa at 70% IACS have been achieved. To date, previous research on Cu-Cr alloys has focused on a relatively small number of alloy compositions and processing methods while the effects of dopants and ageing treatments have only been studied independently. Consequently, there remains considerable opportunity for the development and optimization of these alloys as a leading high-strength, high-conductivity material.

Studying Selective Transparency in ZnS/ Cu/ ZnS Thin Films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ksibe, A.; Howari, H.; Diab, M.

2009-01-01

Dielectric/ Metal/ Dielectric (DMD) thin films deposited on glass offer of significant energy saving in buildings and can find other applications of advanced materials design. In an effort to reduce the complexity and cost production of DMD films, physical vapor deposition was used for the laboratory manufacture of ZnS/ Cu/ ZnS films on glass. ZnS was used because of its high refractive index, ease of deposition and low cost; Cu was used because of its low absorption in the visible spectrum and its thermal stability. The films produced were of good quality, with transmittance as high as 85%. The ZnS layers were found not only to antireflect the Ag layer, but also to stabilize the ZnS/ Cu/ ZnS films, improve its adherence on glass and increase the film thermal resistance up to 240 C. The influence of annealing on the optical properties was investigated. The experimental results show that the properties of the multilayers are improved with annealing in air. the change of maximum transmission indicates that, with the increase of annealing temperature, maximum transmittance was change. Multilayer films annealed at after 200 C, show a decrease in the maximum transmittance witch might be due to the diffused Cu atoms onto ZnS layer. (author)

Enterprise Mobile Tracking and Reminder System: MAE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheah Huei Yoong

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Mobile phones have made significant improvements from providing voice communications to advanced features such as camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, SMS, voice recognition, Internet surfing, and touch screen. This paper presents an enterprise mobile tracking and reminder system (MAE that enables the elderly to have a better elder-care experience. The high-level architecture and major software algorithms especially the tracking in Android phones and SMS functions in server are described. The analysis of data captured and performance study of the server are discussed. In order to show the effectiveness of MAE, a pilot test was carried out with a retirement village in Singapore and the feedback from the elderly was evaluated. Generally, most comments received from the elderly were positive.

Telephone follow-up to a mail survey: when to offer an interview compared to a reminder call

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziegenfuss Jeanette Y

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Using a different mode of contact on the final follow-up to survey non-respondents is an identified strategy to increase response rates. This study was designed to determine if a reminder phone call or a phone interview as a final mode of contact to a mailed survey works better to increase response rates and which strategy is more cost effective. Methods A randomized study was embedded within a survey study of individuals treated with ulcerative colitis conducted in March 2009 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. After two mail contacts, non-respondents were randomly assigned to either a reminder telephone call or a telephone interview. Average cost per completed interview and response rates were compared between the two experimental conditions. Results The response rate in the reminder group and the interview did not differ where we considered both a completed survey and a signed form a complete (24% vs. 29%, p = 0.08. However, if such a signed form was not required, there was a substantial advantage to completing the interview over the phone (24% vs. 43%, p Conclusions The additional cost of completing an interview is worth it when an additional signed form is not required of the respondent. However, when such a signed form is required, offering an interview instead of a reminder phone call as a follow up to non-respondents does not increase response rates enough to outweigh the additional costs.

Controlled Synthesis of Heterostructured SnO2-CuO Composite Hollow Microspheres as Efficient Cu-Based Catalysts for the Rochow Reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hezhi Liu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this work, we report the design and synthesis of a series of heterostructured SnO2-CuO hollow microspherical catalysts (H-SnO2(x-CuO, x is the weight ratio of Sn/Cu for the Rochow reaction. The microspherical catalysts with nanosheets and nanoparticles as building blocks were prepared by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method coupled with calcination. When tested for the Rochow reaction, the prepared H-SnO2(0.2-CuO composite exhibited higher dimethyldichlorosilane selectivity (88.2% and Si conversion (36.7% than the solid CuO, hollow CuO and other H-SnO2(x-CuO microspherical samples, because in the former there is a stronger synergistic interaction between CuO and SnO2.

Devitrification kinetics and phase selection mechanisms in Cu-Zr metallic glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalay, Ilkay [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2010-01-01

Metallic glasses have been a promising class of materials since their discovery in the 1960s. Indeed, remarkable chemical, mechanical and physical properties have attracted considerable attention, and several excellent reviews are available. Moreover, the special group of glass forming alloys known as the bulk metallic glasses (BMG) become amorphous solids even at relatively low cooling rates, allowing them to be cast in large cross sections, opening the scope of potential applications to include bulk forms and net shape structural applications. Recent studies have been reported for new bulk metallic glasses produced with lower cooling rates, from 0.1 to several hundred K/s. Some of the application products of BMGs include sporting goods, high performance springs and medical devices. Several rapid solidification techniques, including melt-spinning, atomization and surface melting have been developed to produce amorphous alloys. The aim of all these methods is to solidify the liquid phase rapidly enough to suppress the nucleation and growth of crystalline phases. Furthermore, the production of amorphous/crystalline composite (ACC) materials by partial crystallization of amorphous precursor has recently given rise to materials that provide better mechanical and magnetic properties than the monolithic amorphous or crystalline alloys. In addition, these advances illustrate the broad untapped potential of using the glassy state as an intermediate stage in the processing of new materials and nanostructures. These advances underlie the necessity of investigations on prediction and control of phase stability and microstructural dynamics during both solidification and devitrification processes. This research presented in this dissertation is mainly focused on Cu-Zr and Cu-Zr-Al alloy systems. The Cu-Zr binary system has high glass forming ability in a wide compositional range (35-70 at.% Cu). Thereby, Cu-Zr based alloys have attracted much attention according to fundamental

A simple and selective resonance Rayleigh scattering-energy transfer spectral method for determination of trace neomycin sulfate using Cu2O particle as probe

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Huixiang; Liang, Aihui; Jiang, Zhiliang

2018-02-01

The stable Cu2O nanocubic (Cu2ONC) sol was prepared, based on graphene oxide (GO) catalysis of glucose-Fehling's reagent reaction, and its absorption and resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were examined. Using the as-prepared Cu2ONC as RRS probe, and coupling with the neomycin sulfate (NEO) complex reaction, a new, simple, sensitive and selective RRS-energy transfer (RRS-ET) method was established for detection of neomycin sulfate, with a linear range of 1.4-112 μM and a detection limit of 0.4 μM. The method has been applied to the detection of neomycin sulfate in samples with satisfactory results.

re:Mind - A mobile application for bipolar disorder patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Corradini, Andrea; Lyck Festersen, Pia

2014-01-01

Several personal healthcare monitoring systems have been proposed to target somatic diseases and specific mental illness. This paper reports on the re:Mind system, which is a helpful tool that supports the treatment of people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. We developed the system as a hybrid...... mobile application to help bipolar patients self-monitor a set of parameters that are known to affect their illness while also allowing them to communicate with their physician. Based on data collected from medical personnel, clinicians, patients, patients’ relatives and persons akin to them, we created...

Can a Repeated Opt-Out Reminder mitigate hypothetical bias in discrete choice experiments?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alemu, Mohammed Hussen; Olsen, Søren Bøye

2018-01-01

In this paper, we test whether a Repeated Opt-Out Reminder (ROOR) can mitigate hypothetical bias in stated discrete choice experiments (DCE). The data originate from a field experiment concerning consumer preferences for a novel food product made from cricket flour. Utilising a between...

Using email reminders to engage physicians in an Internet-based CME intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wall Terry

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Engaging practicing physicians in educational strategies that reinforce guideline adoption and improve the quality of healthcare may be difficult. Push technologies such as email offer new opportunities to engage physicians in online educational reinforcing strategies. The objectives are to investigate 1 the effectiveness of email announcements in engaging recruited community-based primary care physicians in an online guideline reinforcement strategy designed to promote Chlamydia screening, 2 the characteristics of physicians who respond to email announcements, as well as 3 how quickly and when they respond to email announcements. Methods Over a 45-week period, 445 recruited physicians received up to 33 email contacts announcing and reminding them of an online women's health guideline reinforcing CME activity. Participation was defined as physician log-on at least once to the website. Data were analyzed to determine participation, to compare characteristics of participants with recruited physicians who did not participate, and to determine at what point and when participants logged on. Results Of 445 recruited physicians with accurate email addresses, 47.2% logged on and completed at least one module. There were no significant differences by age, race, or specialty between participants and non-participants. Female physicians, US medical graduates and MDs had higher participation rates than male physicians, international medical graduates and DOs. Physicians with higher baseline screening rates were significantly more likely to log on to the course. The first 10 emails were the most effective in engaging community-based physicians to complete the intervention. Physicians were more likely to log on in the afternoon and evening and on Monday or Thursday. Conclusions Email course reminders may enhance recruitment of physicians to interventions designed to reinforce guideline adoption; physicians' response to email reminders may

Facile and green preparation of novel adsorption materials by combining sol-gel with ion imprinting technology for selective removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Zhongqi; Zhu, Xinyan; Du, Jian; Kong, Delong; Wang, Nian; Wang, Zhuo; Wang, Qi; Liu, Wei; Li, Qunsheng; Zhou, Zhiyong

2018-03-01

A novel green adsorption polymer was prepared by ion imprinted technology in conjunction with sol-gel process under mild conditions for the selective removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution. Effects of preparation conditions on adsorption performance of prepared polymers were studied. The ion-imprinted polymer was prepared using Cu(II) ion as template, N-[3-(2-aminoethylamino) propyl] trimethoxysilane (AAPTMS) as functional monomer and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as cross-linker. Water was used as solvent in the whole preparation process. The imprinted and non-imprinted polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) and zeta potential. Three-dimensional network structure was formed and functional monomer was successfully cross-linked into the network structure of polymers. Effects of adsorption conditions on adsorption performance of prepared polymers were studied too. The pH value is of great influence on adsorption behavior. Adsorption by ion-imprinted polymer was fast (adsorption equilibrium was reached within 60 min). The adsorption capacity of Cu(II) ion-imprinted polymer was always larger than that of non-imprinted polymer. Pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Freundlich isotherm model fitted well with adsorption data. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu(II) ion-imprinted polymer was 39.82 mg·g-1. However, the preparation conditions used in this work are much milder than those reported in literatures. The Cu(II) ion-imprinted polymer showed high selectivity and relative selectivity coefficients for Pb(II), Ni(II), Cd(II) and Co(II). In addition, the prepared ion-imprinted polymer could be reused several times without significant loss of adsorption capacity.

Colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor for highly selective and sensitive relay detection of Cu2 + and H2PO4- in aqueous media

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Jun-Xia; Wang, Xiao-Ting; Chang, Jing; Wu, Gui-Yuan; Wang, Hai-Ming; Yao, Hong; Lin, Qi; Zhang, You-Ming; Wei, Tai-Bao

2017-07-01

In this manuscript, a new colorimetric and fluorescent chemosensor (T) was designed and synthesized, it could successively detect Cu2 + and H2PO4- in DMSO/H2O (v/v = 9:1, pH = 7.2) buffer solution with high selectivity and sensitivity. When added Cu2 + ions into the solution of T, it showed a color changes from yellow to colorless, meanwhile, the green fluorescence of sensor T quenched. This recognition behavior was not affected in the presence of other cations, including Hg2 +, Ag+, Ca2 +, Co2 +, Ni2 +, Cd2 +, Pb2 +, Zn2 +, Cr3 +, and Mg2 + ions. More interestingly, the Cu2 + ions contain sensor T solution could recover the color and fluorescence upon the addition of H2PO4- anions in the same medium. And other surveyed anions (including F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, AcO-, HSO4-, ClO4-, CN- and SCN-) had nearly no influence on the recognition behavior. The detection limits of T to Cu2 + and T-Cu2 + to H2PO4- were evaluated to be 1.609 × 10- 8 M and 0.994 × 10- 7 M, respectively. In addition, the sensor T also could be served as a recyclable component and the logic gate output was also defined in sensing materials. The test strips based on sensor T were fabricated, which acted as a convenient and efficient Cu2 + and H2PO4- test kits.

Selective exfoliation of single-layer graphene from non-uniform graphene grown on Cu

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Jae-Young; Lee, Jae-Hyun; Jang, Hyeon-Sik; Whang, Dongmok; Joo, Won-Jae; Hwang, SungWoo

2015-01-01

Graphene growth on a copper surface via metal-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition has several advantages in terms of providing high-quality graphene with the potential for scale-up, but the product is usually inhomogeneous due to the inability to control the graphene layer growth. The non-uniform regions strongly affect the reliability of the graphene in practical electronic applications. Herein, we report a novel graphene transfer method that allows for the selective exfoliation of single-layer graphene from non-uniform graphene grown on a Cu foil. Differences in the interlayer bonding energy are exploited to mechanically separate only the top single-layer graphene and transfer this to an arbitrary substrate. The dry-transferred single-layer graphene showed electrical characteristics that were more uniform than those of graphene transferred using conventional wet-etching transfer steps. (paper)

Interaction matters? : exploring interactive music as a reminder to break sedentary office time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ren, X.; Lu, Y.; Visser, V.J.J.; Le, P.D.Huy; van den Burg, R.

2017-01-01

This paper presents a within-subject field test (n=24) with Flow platform, a smart cushion that uses interactive music to motivate office workers to break excessive sedentary time. In this study, we compared continuous music and interactive music as reminders to inform sedentary time by every

Controller adherence following hospital discharge in high risk children: A pilot randomized trial of text message reminders.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenyon, Chén C; Gruschow, Siobhan M; Quarshie, William O; Griffis, Heather; Leach, Michelle C; Zorc, Joseph J; Bryant-Stephens, Tyra C; Miller, Victoria A; Feudtner, Chris

2018-02-13

To assess the feasibility of a mobile health, inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) adherence reminder intervention and to characterize adherence trajectories immediately following severe asthma exacerbation in high-risk urban children with persistent asthma. Children aged 2-13 with persistent asthma were enrolled in this pilot randomized controlled trial during an asthma emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization. Intervention arm participants received daily text message reminders for 30 days, and both arms received electronic sensors to measure ICS use. Primary outcomes were feasibility of sensor use and text message acceptability. Secondary outcomes included adherence to prescribed ICS regimen and 30-day adherence trajectories. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to examine adherence trajectories. Forty-one participants (mean age 5.9) were randomized to intervention (n = 21) or control (n = 20). Overall, 85% were Black, 88% had public insurance, and 51% of the caregivers had a high school education or less. Thirty-two participant families (78%) transmitted medication adherence data; of caregivers who completed the acceptability survey, 25 (96%) chose to receive daily reminders beyond that study interval. Secondary outcome analyses demonstrated similar average daily adherence between groups (intervention = 36%; control = 32%, P = 0.73). Three adherence trajectories were identified with none ever exceeding 80% adherence. Within a high-risk pediatric cohort, electronic monitoring of ICS use and adherence reminders delivered via text message were feasible for most participants, but there was no signal of effect. Adherence trajectories following severe exacerbation were suboptimal, demonstrating an important opportunity for asthma care improvement.

Cu2+-labeled dansyl compounds as fluorescent and PET probes for imaging apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Junyan; Wang, Xukui; Yu, MeiXiang

2016-11-15

Compound DNSTT-Cu 2+ , a novel chelate of Cu 2+ with DOTA conjugated to a fluorescent dansyl fragment, is developed for imaging cell apoptosis. Apoptotic U-87MG cells could be selectively visualized by the fluorescence of DNSTT-Cu 2+ from cytoplasm of cells, confirmed by the fluorescence of apoptosis cells co-labeled with Alexa Fluor 568-labeled annexin V, a conventional probe for selectively labeling membranes of apoptosis cells. A radioactive 64 Cu 2 + analog, DNSTT- 64 Cu 2+ , was easily synthesized, providing a potential PET probe for imaging apoptosis in vivo. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item-cued directed forgetting of related words and pictures in children and adults: selective rehearsal versus cognitive inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehman, E B; McKinley-Pace, M; Leonard, A M; Thompson, D; Johns, K

2001-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to compare the relative importance of selective rehearsal and cognitive inhibition in accounting for developmental changes in the directed-forgetting paradigm developed by R. A. Bjork (1972). In two experiments, children in Grades 2 and 5 and college students were asked to remember some words or pictures and to forget others when items were categorically related. Their memory for both items and the associated remember or forget cues was then tested with recall and recognition. Fifth graders recognized more of the forget-cued words than college students did. The pattern of results suggested that age differences in rehearsal and source monitoring (i.e., remembering whether a word had been cued remember or forget) were better explanatory mechanisms for children's forgetting inefficiencies than retrieval inhibition was. The results are discussed in terms of a multiple process view of inhibition.

Dual-Analyte Fluorescent Sensor Based on [5]Helicene Derivative with Super Large Stokes Shift for the Selective Determinations of Cu2+ or Zn2+ in Buffer Solutions and Its Application in a Living Cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakunkaewkasem, Siwakorn; Petdum, Anuwut; Panchan, Waraporn; Sirirak, Jitnapa; Charoenpanich, Adisri; Sooksimuang, Thanasat; Wanichacheva, Nantanit

2018-05-10

A new fluorescent sensor, M201-DPA, based on [5]helicene derivative was utilized as dual-analyte sensor for determination of Cu 2+ or Zn 2+ in different media and different emission wavelengths. The sensor could provide selective and bifunctional determination of Cu 2+ in HEPES buffer containing Triton-X100 and Zn 2+ in Tris buffer/methanol without interference from each other and other ions. In HEPES buffer, M201-DPA demonstrated the selective ON-OFF fluorescence quenching at 524 nm toward Cu 2+ . On the other hand, in Tris buffer/methanol, M201-DPA showed the selective OFF-ON fluorescence enhancement upon the addition of Zn 2+ , which was specified by the hypsochromic shift at 448 nm. Additionally, M201-DPA showed extremely large Stokes shifts up to ∼150 nm. By controlling the concentration of Zn 2+ and Cu 2+ in a living cell, the imaging of a HepG2 cellular system was performed, in which the fluorescence of M201-DPA in the blue channel was decreased upon addition of Cu 2+ and was enhanced in UV channel upon addition of Zn 2+ . The detection limits of M201-DPA for Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ in buffer solutions were 5.6 and 3.8 ppb, respectively. Importantly, the Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ detection limits of the developed sensors were significantly lower than permitted Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ concentrations in drinking water as established by the U.S. EPA and WHO.

A turn-on fluorescent rhodamine-acyl hydrazide for selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} ions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Jung Won; Jeong, Hyuk; Lee, Min Hee [Dept. of Chemistry, Sookmyung Women' s University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

We present a rhodamine-based probe that can detect Cu{sup 2+} ions via Cu{sup 2+}-promoted hydrolysis in aqueous solutions. In solution, the probe is non-fluorescent and colorless, but gives a strong fluorescence at 586 nm and shows a color change to pink on the addition of Cu{sup 2+} ions. We demonstrate that the rhodamine-based probe undergoes Cu{sup 2+}-promoted hydrolysis with a moderate reaction time (within 3 min) and provides a fluorescence off–on change, even in the presence of other competitive metal ions. The rhodamine-based probe shows a linear correlation between increasing fluorescence at 586 nm and the Cu{sup 2+} concentration, and can detect Cu{sup 2+} at nanomolar levels (10 nM) in CH{sub 3}CN:H{sub 2}O (v/v, 90:10)

Synthesis of novel CuO nanosheets and their non-enzymatic glucose sensing applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibupoto, Zafar Hussain; Khun, Kimleang; Beni, Valerio; Liu, Xianjie; Willander, Magnus

2013-06-20

In this study, we have developed a sensitive and selective glucose sensor using novel CuO nanosheets which were grown on a gold coated glass substrate by a low temperature growth method. X-ray differaction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used for the structural characterization of CuO nanostructures. CuO nanosheets are highly dense, uniform, and exhibited good crystalline array structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was applied for the study of chemical composition of CuO nanosheets and the obtained information demonstrated pure phase CuO nanosheets. The novel CuO nanosheets were employed for the development of a sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The measured sensitivity and a correlation coefficient are in order 5.20 × 10² µA/mMcm² and 0.998, respectively. The proposed sensor is associated with several advantages such as low cost, simplicity, high stability, reproducibility and selectivity for the quick detection of glucose.

Synthesis of Novel CuO Nanosheets and Their Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensing Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magnus Willander

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, we have developed a sensitive and selective glucose sensor using novel CuO nanosheets which were grown on a gold coated glass substrate by a low temperature growth method. X-ray differaction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM techniques were used for the structural characterization of CuO nanostructures. CuO nanosheets are highly dense, uniform, and exhibited good crystalline array structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS technique was applied for the study of chemical composition of CuO nanosheets and the obtained information demonstrated pure phase CuO nanosheets. The novel CuO nanosheets were employed for the development of a sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor. The measured sensitivity and a correlation coefficient are in order 5.20 × 102 µA/mMcm2 and 0.998, respectively. The proposed sensor is associated with several advantages such as low cost, simplicity, high stability, reproducibility and selectivity for the quick detection of glucose.

Influenza vaccine text message reminders for urban, low-income pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Stockwell, Melissa S; Westhoff, Carolyn; Kharbanda, Elyse Olshen; Vargas, Celibell Y; Camargo, Stewin; Vawdrey, David K; Castaño, Paula M

2014-02-01

We evaluated the impact of influenza vaccine text message reminders in a low-income obstetric population. We conducted a randomized controlled trial that enrolled 1187 obstetric patients from 5 community-based clinics in New York City. The intervention group received 5 weekly text messages regarding influenza vaccination starting mid-September 2011 and 2 text message appointment reminders. Both groups received standard automated telephone appointment reminders. The prespecified endpoints were receipt of either pre- or postpartum influenza vaccination calculated cumulatively at the end of each month (September-December 2011). After adjusting for gestational age and number of clinic visits, women who received the intervention were 30% more likely to be vaccinated as of December 2011 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.003, 1.69 end of September: AOR = 1.34; 95% CI = 0.98, 1.85; October: AOR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.05, 1.75; November: AOR = 1.27; 95% CI = 0.98, 1.65). The subgroup of women early in the third trimester at randomization showed the greatest intervention effect (December 31: 61.9% intervention vs 49.0% control; AOR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.12, 3.15). In this low-income obstetric population, text messaging was associated with increased influenza vaccination, especially in those who received messages early in their third trimester.

Functional CuO Microstructures for Glucose Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Gulzar; Tahira, Aneela; Mallah, Arfana Begum; Mallah, Sarfraz Ahmed; Ibupoto, Akila; Khand, Aftab Ahmed; Baradi, Waryani; Willander, Magnus; Yu, Cong; Ibupoto, Zafar Hussain

2018-02-01

CuO microstructures are produced in the presence of water-soluble amino acids by hydrothermal method. The used amino acids include isoleucine, alpha alanine, and arginine as a soft template and are used for tuning the morphology of CuO nanostructures. The crystalline and morphological investigations were carried out by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The XRD study has shown that CuO material obtained in the presence of different amino acids is of high purity and all have the same crystal phase. The CuO microstructures prepared in the presence of arginine were used for the development of sensitive and selective glucose biosensor. The linear range for the glucose detection are from 0.001 mM to 30 mM and limit of detection was found to be 0.0005 mM. The sensitivity was estimated around 77 mV/decade. The developed biosensor is highly selective, sensitive, stable and reproducible. The glucose biosensor was used for the determination of real human blood samples and the obtained results are satisfactory. The CuO material is functional therefore can be capitalized in wide range of applications such as lithium ion batteries, all oxide solar cells and supercapacitors.

Free and cued memory in relation to biomarker-defined abnormalities in clinically normal older adults and those at risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Papp, Kathryn V; Amariglio, Rebecca E; Mormino, Elizabeth C; Hedden, Trey; Dekhytar, Maria; Johnson, Keith A; Sperling, Reisa A; Rentz, Dorene M

2015-07-01

Furthering our understanding of the relationship between amyloidosis (Aβ), neurodegeneration (ND), and cognition is imperative for early identification and early intervention of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the subtle cognitive decline differentially associated with each biomarker-defined stage of preclinical AD has yet to be fully characterized. Recent work indicates that different components of memory performance (free and cued recall) may be differentially specific to memory decline in prodromal AD. We sought to examine the relationship between free and cued recall paradigms, in addition to global composites of memory, executive functioning, and processing speed in relation to stages of preclinical AD. A total of 260 clinically normal (CN) older adults (CDR=0) from the Harvard Aging Brain study were grouped according to preclinical AD stages including Stage 0 (Aβ-/ND-), Stage 1 (Aβ+/ND-), Stage 2 (Aβ+/ND+), and suspected non-Alzheimer's associated pathology (SNAP; Aβ-/ND+). General linear models controlling for age, sex, and education were used to assess for stage-based performance differences on cognitive composites of executive functioning, processing speed, and memory in addition to free and cued delayed recall on the Selective Reminding Test (SRT) and Memory Capacity Test (MCT). Global memory performance differed between preclinical stages with Stage 2 performing worse compared with Stage 0. When examining free and cued paradigms by memory test, only the MCT (and not the SRT) revealed group differences. More specifically, Stage 1 was associated with decrements in free recall compared with Stage 0 while Stage 2 was associated with decrements in both free and cued recall. There was a trend for the SNAP group to perform worse on free recall compared with Stage 0. Finally, there was no association between preclinical stage and global composites of executive functioning or processing speed. Clinically normal older adults with underlying evidence of

SMS text pre-notification and delivery of reminder e-mails to increase response rates to postal questionnaires in the SUSPEND trial: a factorial design, randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, Kathryn; McPherson, Gladys; Forrest, Mark; Cotton, Seonaidh C

2015-07-08

Patient-reported outcomes are vital in informing randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and health-care interventions and policies from the patient's perspective. However, participant non-response may introduce bias and can affect the generalisability of the trial. This study evaluates two interventions aimed at increasing response rates to postal questionnaires within a large, UK-wide RCT: pre-notification via short messenger service (SMS) text prior to sending the initial mailing of trial questionnaires versus no pre-notification; for non-responders to the initial mailing of the questionnaires, an e-mail reminder (containing a hyperlink to complete the questionnaire online) versus a postal reminder. This study is a 2 × 2 partial factorial design RCT nested within an RCT of medical expulsive therapy for ureteric stone disease. Participants who supplied a mobile telephone number were randomly assigned to receive an SMS text pre-notification of questionnaire delivery or no pre-notification. Those who supplied an e-mail address were randomly assigned to receive a questionnaire reminder by e-mail or post. Participants could be randomly assigned to the pre-notification comparison or the reminder comparison or both. The primary outcome measure was response rate at each questionnaire time point. Four hundred eighteen participants were randomly assigned to the SMS pre-notification comparison (80% were male, and the mean age was 41 years with a standard deviation (SD) of 11.1). The intervention had no effect on response rate at either questionnaire time point. In subgroup analyses, SMS pre-notification increased response rates in women but only at the first questionnaire time point. One hundred nineteen participants were randomly assigned to the reminder comparison (80% were male, and the mean age was 42 years with an SD of 12.1). There was no difference in response rate in those who received an e-mail reminder compared with those who received a postal reminder. SMS text pre

The effects of a reminder of underwater trauma on behaviour and memory-related mechanisms in the rat dentate gyrus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ardi, Ziv; Ritov, Gilad; Lucas, Morgan; Richter-Levin, Gal

2014-04-01

Intrusive re-experiencing is a core symptom in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often triggered by contextual cues associated with the trauma. It is not yet clear if intrusive re-experiencing is only the result, or whether it may contribute to the establishment of PTSD following acute stress. This study aimed at examining the impact of an underwater trauma (UWT) reminder on anxiety-like behaviour and on neuronal activity and plasticity in the hippocampus and the amygdala. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to UWT and 24 h later were re-exposed to the context. The effects on behaviour, activation of the amygdala (BLA) and dentate gyrus (DG), and on long-term potentiation (LTP) and local circuit activity (frequency-dependent inhibition (FDI) and paired-pulse inhibition (PPI)) in the DG were assessed. The exposure to UWT by itself resulted in increased anxiety behaviour in the open field, together with increased PPI. Upon exposure to the UWT reminder, an additional increase in anxiety was also observed in the EPM and in FDI. Moreover, reminder exposure resulted in impaired DG LTP and a significant BLA extracellular-signal-regulated kinases (ERK) 2 activation. In conclusion, these observed effects of exposure to a trauma reminder, following the exposure to the initial trauma, might be associated with the progression of trauma-related pathologies and the development of related disorders.

Band offsets of n-type electron-selective contacts on cuprous oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) for photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brandt, Riley E., E-mail: rbrandt@alum.mit.edu, E-mail: buonassisi@mit.edu; Lee, Yun Seog; Buonassisi, Tonio, E-mail: rbrandt@alum.mit.edu, E-mail: buonassisi@mit.edu [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Young, Matthew; Dameron, Arrelaine; Teeter, Glenn [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Park, Helen Hejin; Chua, Danny; Gordon, Roy G. [Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

2014-12-29

The development of cuprous oxide (Cu{sub 2}O) photovoltaics (PVs) is limited by low device open-circuit voltages. A strong contributing factor to this underperformance is the conduction-band offset between Cu{sub 2}O and its n-type heterojunction partner or electron-selective contact. In the present work, a broad range of possible n-type materials is surveyed, including ZnO, ZnS, Zn(O,S), (Mg,Zn)O, TiO{sub 2}, CdS, and Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Band offsets are determined through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and optical bandgap measurements. A majority of these materials is identified as having a negative conduction-band offset with respect to Cu{sub 2}O; the detrimental impact of this on open-circuit voltage (V{sub OC}) is evaluated through 1-D device simulation. These results suggest that doping density of the n-type material is important as well, and that a poorly optimized heterojunction can easily mask changes in bulk minority carrier lifetime. Promising heterojunction candidates identified here include Zn(O,S) with [S]/[Zn] ratios >70%, and Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}, which both demonstrate slightly positive conduction-band offsets and high V{sub OC} potential. This experimental protocol and modeling may be generalized to evaluate the efficiency potential of candidate heterojunction partners for other PV absorbers, and the materials identified herein may be promising for other absorbers with low electron affinities.

Radiolabeling and biodistribution of 62Cu-dithiocarbamate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Kazuya; Fujibayashi, Yasuhisa; Yokoyama, Akira; Konishi, Junji.

1990-01-01

The newly developed 62 Zn/ 62 Cu generator system has made available the production of the short-lived 62 Cu (T 1/2 = 9.8 min) positron radionuclide, eluted as 62 Cu-glycine. In the search for 62 Cu labeled radiopharmaceuticals for positron CT (PET) brain diagnostic studies, two ligands N,N-diethyl- and N,N-dimethyl-dithiocarbamic acid (DDC and DmDC) were selected, based on their Cu chelating abilities and the neutral lipophilic character of their copper chelates. In the present work, an in vitro study with non-radioactive Cu-glycine showed that both ligands easily formed the stable, neutral Cu-DDC and Cu-DmDC chelates (1:2 metal-ligand complexes) based on the ligand exchange reaction. Then the 62 Zn/ 62 Cu generator eluate, the 62 Cu-glycine was used for the radiolabeling of DDC and DmDC. The following HPLC analysis revealed that the ligand exchange reaction proceeded rapidly; the radiochemical purities of 62 Cu-DDC and 62 Cu-DmDC were extremely high (non-detectable 62 Cu-glycine) and both chelates were more lipophilic than 62 Cu-glycine. The mouse biodistribution of both radiolabeled compounds, 62 Cu-DDC and 62 Cu-DmDC indicated a brain accumlation of 2.8 and 5.3 times higher than 62 Cu-glycine, 15 min post injection, respectively. The brain accumulation observed with both 62 Cu-DDC and 62 Cu-DmDC might be due to their stable, neutral and lipophilic character; the latter enhanced by the presence of the methylated side chains. The gathered results indicated the applicability of dithiocarbamic acid derivatives in the production of new 62 Cu-labeled compounds using the 62 Zn/ 62 Cu generator system based on the ligand exchange reaction with 62 Cu-glycine eluate. Further studies with Cu-dithiocarbamic acid derivatives for development of new generator-produced 62 Cu positron radiopharmaceuticals can be recalled. (author)

Free and Cued Memory in relation to Biomarker-Defined Abnormalities in Clinically Normal Older Adults and Those at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

Science.gov (United States)

Papp, Kathryn V.; Amariglio, Rebecca E.; Mormino, Elizabeth; Hedden, Trey; Dekhytar, Maria; Johnson, Keith A.; Sperling, Reisa A.; Rentz, Dorene M.

2015-01-01

Objectives Furthering our understanding of the relationship between amyloidosis (Aβ), neurodegeneration (ND), and cognition is imperative for early identification and early intervention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the subtle cognitive decline differentially associated with each biomarker-defined stage of preclinical AD has yet to be fully characterized. Recent work indicates that different components of memory performance (free and cued recall) may be differentially specific to memory decline in prodromal AD. We sought to examine the relationship between free and cued recall paradigms, in addition to global composites of memory, executive functioning, and processing speed in relation to stages of preclinical AD. Methods A total of 260 clinically normal (CN) older adults (CDR=0) from the Harvard Aging Brain study were grouped according to preclinical AD stages including Stage 0 (Aβ−/ND−), Stage 1 (Aβ+/ND−), Stage 2 (Aβ+/ND+), and suspected non-Alzheimer’s associated pathology (SNAP; Aβ−/ND+). General linear models controlling for age, sex, and education were used to assess for stage-based performance differences on cognitive composites of executive functioning, processing speed, and memory in addition to free and cued delayed recall on the Selective Reminding Test (SRT) and Memory Capacity Test (MCT). Results Global memory performance differed between preclinical stages with Stage 2 performing worse compared with Stage 0. When examining free and cued paradigms by memory test, only the MCT (and not the SRT) revealed group differences. More specifically, Stage 1 was associated with decrements in free recall compared with Stage 0 while Stage 2 was associated with decrements in both free and cued recall. There was a trend for the SNAP group to perform worse on free recall compared with Stage 0. Finally, there was no association between preclinical stage and global composites of executive functioning or processing speed. Conclusions Clinically

Assessment of copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) and copper (II) oxide (CuO) induced hemato- and hepatotoxicity in Cyprinus carpio

Science.gov (United States)

Noureen, Aasma; Jabeen, Farhat; Tabish, Tanveer A.; Yaqub, Sajid; Ali, Muhammad; Shakoor Chaudhry, Abdul

2018-04-01

Recently, Cu-based nanoparticles have drawn considerable attention for their various fascinating roles in multiple biological systems. It is recognized that their frequent use can create compatibility challenges for the recipient systems. Nevertheless, it is unclear how various biological interactions affect the compatibility of Cu oxide II (CuO) and Cu oxide nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) for different organisms. Consequently, it has been difficult to perform structured risk assessments for their use in biological systems. Therefore, this study compared the effects of different doses of waterborne Cu-NPs and CuO on the blood and liver of selected groups of Cyprinus (C) carpio. These fish while housed in suitable water tanks were exposed to one of the following treatments for 14 d: control (no added Cu) or 0.5 or 1 or 1.5 mg Cu as Cu-NPs or CuO l-1 of water. We found significant changes in all assessed blood parameters of fish in response to increasing doses from 0 to 1.5 mg of Cu-NPs or CuO. Similarly, increased levels of lipid peroxide and reduced glutathione (GSH) were also observed in the livers of C. carpio in Cu-NPs or CuO treated groups. Enhanced levels of lipid peroxidation and GSH were also recorded in the Cu-NP treated groups compared with the CuO treated groups in a dose dependent manner. The lowest catalase activity was observed in the liver of C. carpio treated with the higer dose of Cu-NPs. Cu-NP or CuO exposure induced significant histological alterations in the liver of C. carpio including focal necrosis, cloudy swelling of hepatocytes, degenerative hepatocytes, vacuolization, pyknotic nuclei, damaged central vein, nuclear hypertrophy, dilated sinusoid, vacuolated degeneration, congestion, and complete degeneration in a dose dependent manner. Substantial alterations in blood and liver specimens were observed in the Cu-NP treated fish when compared with the CuO treated fish. It appeared that the Cu-NPs were more toxic than the CuO as shown by the hemato- and

Influence of reminder therapy for controlling bacterial plaque in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Igor Felipe Pereira; de Andrade Vieira, Walbert; de Macedo Bernardino, Ítalo; Costa, Pedro Augusto; Lima, Anderson Paulo Barbosa; Pithon, Matheus Melo; Paranhos, Luiz Renato

2018-04-17

To assess the scientific evidence regarding the influence of reminder therapy on plaque index, gingival index, and white spots in patients subjected to orthodontic treatment. Randomized clinical trials were searched in the electronic databases LILACS, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, LIVIVO, and Cochrane Library. The databases OpenThesis and OpenGrey were used to capture the "gray literature," preventing selection and publication biases. The risk of bias was assessed by the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials tool. The software Review Manager was used for the meta-analysis. The heterogeneity among studies was assessed through the I 2 statistic. A summary of the overall strength of evidence available was assessed using the Grades of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation tool. A total of 332 records were found, from which only 7 articles met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to analysis. Reminder therapy showed improved scores for the plaque index (standardized mean difference = -1.22; 95% confidence interval = -2.03 to -0.42; P = .003) and the gingival index (standardized mean difference = 1.49; 95% confidence interval = -2.61 to 0.37; P = .009). Moreover, there was lower occurrence of white spots (relative risk = 0.53; 95% confidence interval = 0.38 to 0.74; P plaque and gingival indices as well as to the lower occurrence of white spots in patients subjected to orthodontic treatment.

78 FR 65427 - Pipeline Safety: Reminder of Requirements for Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Utility Liquefied...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-31

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration [Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0097] Pipeline Safety: Reminder of Requirements for Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Utility Liquefied Petroleum Gas Pipeline Systems AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration...

Study On Nanohardness Of Phases Occurring In ZnAl22Cu3 And ZnAl40Cu3 Alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michalik R.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Zn-Al alloys are mainly used due to their high tribological and damping properties. A very important issue is determination of the hardness of the phases present in the Zn-Al-Cu alloys. Unfortunately, in literature there is lack of studies on the hardness of the phases present in the alloys Zn-Al-Cu. The aim of this research was to determine the hardness of the phases present in the ZnAl22Cu3Si and ZnAl40Cu3Si alloys. The scope of the research included examination of the structure, chemical composition of selected micro-regions and hardness of phases present in the examined alloys. The research carried out has shown, that CuZn4 phase is characterized by a similar hardness as the hardness of the interdendritic areas. The phases present in the structure of ZnAl40Cu3 and ZnAl22Cu3 alloys after soaking at the temperature of 185 °C are characterized by lower hardness than the phase present in the structure of the as-cast alloys.

Examining Unlock Journaling with Diaries and Reminders for In Situ Self-Report in Health and Wellness.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoyi; Pina, Laura R; Fogarty, James

2016-05-07

In situ self-report is widely used in human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, and for assessment and intervention in health and wellness. Unfortunately, it remains limited by high burdens. We examine unlock journaling as an alternative. Specifically, we build upon recent work to introduce single-slide unlock journaling gestures appropriate for health and wellness measures. We then present the first field study comparing unlock journaling with traditional diaries and notification-based reminders in self-report of health and wellness measures. We find unlock journaling is less intrusive than reminders, dramatically improves frequency of journaling, and can provide equal or better timeliness . Where appropriate to broader design needs, unlock journaling is thus an overall promising method for in situ self-report.

Drivers' attitudes toward front or rear child passenger belt use and seat belt reminders at these seating positions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidd, David G; McCartt, Anne T

2014-01-01

Passengers, especially those in rear seating positions, use seat belts less frequently than drivers. In-vehicle technology can inform drivers when their passengers are unbuckled and encourage passengers to use belts. The current study collected information about drivers' attitudes toward passenger belt use and belt reminders for front passengers and children in back seats. A national telephone survey of 1218 people 18 and older was conducted, of which 477 respondents were drivers who transport a front seat passenger at least once a week and 254 were drivers who transport an 8- to 15-year-old child in the back seat. Respondents were asked about their attitudes toward belt use by their front passengers or rear child passengers and preferences for different passenger belt reminder features. Ninety percent of drivers who regularly transport front seat passengers said that the passengers always use seat belts. Reported belt use was even higher among 8- to 15-year-old children in the back seat (97%). Among the drivers whose children do not always buckle up, about half said their child unbuckled the belt during the trip. Almost every full-time belt use driver (96%) would encourage front passengers to buckle up if not belted, compared to 57 percent of part-time belt users and nonusers. In contrast, nearly every driver who transports children in the back seat would encourage their belt use, regardless of the driver's belt use habits. Most drivers who transport front passengers wanted passenger belt reminders to encourage passengers to buckle up. Most of these drivers wanted a chime/buzzer or warning light or text display and wanted the reminder to last indefinitely. Most drivers who transport child passengers in the rear seat wanted the vehicle to indicate whether child passengers are unbuckled. A large majority of these drivers wanted notifications via a visual diagram of seating positions and belt use, a chime/buzzer, and a warning light or text display. These drivers

Damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints subjected to thermomechanical cycling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, H.; Li, X.Y.; Hu, Y.; Guo, F.; Shi, Y.W.

2013-01-01

Highlights: •A creep–fatigue damage model based on CDM was proposed. •Designed system includes load frame, strain measure device and damage test device. •Damage evolution of solder joints was a function of accumulated inelastic strain. •Damage of solder joints is an interaction between creep and low-cycle fatigue. -- Abstract: Thermomechanical fatigue damage is a progressive process of material degradation. The objective of this study was to investigate the damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints under thermomechanical cycling. A damage model was proposed based on continuum damage mechanics (CDM). Based upon an analysis of displacements for flip-chip solder joints subjected to thermal cycling, a special bimetallic loading frame with single-solder joint samples was designed to simulate the service conditions of actual joints in electronic packages. The assembly, which allowed for strain measurements of an individual solder joint during temperature cycling, was used to investigate the impact of stress–strain cycling on the damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints. The characteristic parameters of the damage model were determined through thermomechanical cycling and strain measurement tests. The damage variable D = 1 − R 0 /R was selected, and values for it were obtained using a four-probe method for the single-solder joint samples every dozen cycles during thermomechanical cycling tests to verify the model. The results showed that the predicted damage was in good agreement with the experimental results. The damage evolution law proposed here is a function of inelastic strain, and the results showed that the damage rate of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints increased as the range of the applied strain increased. In addition, the microstructure evolution of the solder joints was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, which provided the microscopic explanation for the damage evolution law of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints

Damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints subjected to thermomechanical cycling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, H., E-mail: xiaohui2013@yahoo.com.cn; Li, X.Y.; Hu, Y.; Guo, F.; Shi, Y.W.

2013-11-25

Highlights: •A creep–fatigue damage model based on CDM was proposed. •Designed system includes load frame, strain measure device and damage test device. •Damage evolution of solder joints was a function of accumulated inelastic strain. •Damage of solder joints is an interaction between creep and low-cycle fatigue. -- Abstract: Thermomechanical fatigue damage is a progressive process of material degradation. The objective of this study was to investigate the damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints under thermomechanical cycling. A damage model was proposed based on continuum damage mechanics (CDM). Based upon an analysis of displacements for flip-chip solder joints subjected to thermal cycling, a special bimetallic loading frame with single-solder joint samples was designed to simulate the service conditions of actual joints in electronic packages. The assembly, which allowed for strain measurements of an individual solder joint during temperature cycling, was used to investigate the impact of stress–strain cycling on the damage behavior of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints. The characteristic parameters of the damage model were determined through thermomechanical cycling and strain measurement tests. The damage variable D = 1 − R{sub 0}/R was selected, and values for it were obtained using a four-probe method for the single-solder joint samples every dozen cycles during thermomechanical cycling tests to verify the model. The results showed that the predicted damage was in good agreement with the experimental results. The damage evolution law proposed here is a function of inelastic strain, and the results showed that the damage rate of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints increased as the range of the applied strain increased. In addition, the microstructure evolution of the solder joints was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, which provided the microscopic explanation for the damage evolution law of SnAgCu/Cu solder joints.

The impact of an electronic monitoring and reminder device on patient compliance with antihypertensive therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Arne; Christrup, Lona Louring; Fabricius, Paul Erik

2010-01-01

. In the first half of the study, patients using the device reported 91% compliance versus 85% in the control group. This difference diminished after crossover (88 versus 86%). BP was not affected. Electronic monitoring data on compliance revealed taking, dosing and timing compliance between 45 and 52% in study...... to be effective in improving patient compliance to some extent, but the combined effect has not been documented. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of an electronic reminder and monitoring device on patient compliance and BP control. METHODS: All patients received medical treatment with telmisartan once daily...... and were randomized to either electronic compliance monitoring with a reminder and monitoring device or standard therapy for 6 months. Both groups were crossed over after 6 months. Intervention effectiveness was assessed using self-reported compliance and BP. RESULTS: Data from 398 patients were analysed...

Fabrication, characterization and sensing properties of Cu(II) ion imprinted sol–gel thin film on QCM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Pi-Guey; Hung, Fang-Chieh; Lin, Po-Hung

2012-01-01

Cu(II)-molecularly imprinted sol–gel films (Cu(II)-MISGF), coated on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) chip, were fabricated using a sol–gel procedure. Co-hydrolysis and co-condensation of Cu(II) (templates), 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS, functional monomer) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS, cross-linking agent) were performed with acid and base catalysis. The properties of the Cu(II)-MISGF were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the electrochemical methods of cyclic voltammetry (CV). Microstructural observations revealed that the acid-catalyzed system yielded more mechanically stable thin films. A combined Cu(II)-MISGF-QCM with flow injection analysis (FIA) method was utilized to investigate the sensing performance of the Cu(II)-MISGF, with special emphasis on the most important properties of sensitivity, selectivity and response time. The Cu(II)-MISGF-QCM sensor, at a TEOS/APTS molar ratio of 10, exhibited excellent selectivity and rapidly responded to Cu(II) ions. - Highlights: ► A Cu(II)-molecularly imprinted sol–gel thin film on chip was fabricated. ► The thin film had mechanical stability using acidic catalyst. ► The thin film had good selectivity and response time for Cu(II) ions.

Short message service reminder intervention doubles sexually transmitted infection/HIV re-testing rates among men who have sex with men.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourne, C; Knight, V; Guy, R; Wand, H; Lu, H; McNulty, A

2011-04-01

To evaluate the impact of a short message service (SMS) reminder system on HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) re-testing rates among men who have sex with men (MSM). The SMS reminder programme started in late 2008 at a large Australian sexual health clinic. SMS reminders were recommended 3-6 monthly for MSM considered high-risk based on self-reported sexual behaviour. The evaluation compared HIV negative MSM who had a HIV/STI test between 1 January and 31 August 2010 and received a SMS reminder (SMS group) with those tested in the same time period (comparison group) and pre-SMS period (pre-SMS group, 1 January 2008 and 31 August 2008) who did not receive the SMS. HIV/STI re-testing rates were measured within 9 months for each group. Baseline characteristics were compared between study groups and multivariate logistic regression used to assess the association between SMS and re-testing and control for any imbalances in the study groups. There were 714 HIV negative MSM in the SMS group, 1084 in the comparison group and 1753 in the pre-SMS group. In the SMS group, 64% were re-tested within 9 months compared to 30% in the comparison group (preminders increased HIV/STI re-testing among HIV negative MSM. SMS offers a cheap, efficient system to increase HIV/STI re-testing in a busy clinical setting.

Drinker prototype alteration and cue reminders as strategies in a tailored web-based intervention reducing adults' alcohol consumption: randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

van Lettow, Britt; de Vries, Hein; Burdorf, Alex; Boon, Brigitte; van Empelen, Pepijn

2015-02-04

Excessive alcohol use is a prevalent and worldwide problem. Excessive drinking causes a significant burden of disease and is associated with both morbidity and excess mortality. Prototype alteration and provision of a cue reminder could be useful strategies to enhance the effectiveness of online tailored interventions for excessive drinking. Through a Web-based randomized controlled trial, 2 strategies (ie, prototype alteration and cue reminders) within an existing online personalized feedback intervention (Drinktest) aimed to reduce adults' excessive drinking. It was expected that both strategies would add to Drinktest and would result in reductions in alcohol consumption by intrinsic motivation and the seizure of opportunities to act. Participants were recruited online and through printed materials. Excessive drinking adults (N=2634) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: original Drinktest, Drinktest plus prototype alteration, Drinktest plus cue reminder, and Drinktest plus prototype alteration and cue reminder. Evaluation took place at 1-month posttest and 6-month follow-up. Differences in drinking behavior, intentions, and behavioral willingness (ie, primary outcomes) were assessed by means of longitudinal multilevel analyses using a last observation carried forward method. Measures were based on self-reports. All conditions showed reductions in drinking behavior and willingness to drink, and increased intentions to reduce drinking. Prototype alteration (B=-0.15, Pprototypes. Thus, prototype alteration and cue reminder usage may be feasible and simple intervention strategies to promote reductions in alcohol consumption among adults, with an effect up to 6 months. Nederlands Trial Register (NTR): 4169; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4169 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6VD2jnxmB).

Drinker Prototype Alteration and Cue Reminders as Strategies in a Tailored Web-Based Intervention Reducing Adults’ Alcohol Consumption: Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Background Excessive alcohol use is a prevalent and worldwide problem. Excessive drinking causes a significant burden of disease and is associated with both morbidity and excess mortality. Prototype alteration and provision of a cue reminder could be useful strategies to enhance the effectiveness of online tailored interventions for excessive drinking. Objective Through a Web-based randomized controlled trial, 2 strategies (ie, prototype alteration and cue reminders) within an existing online personalized feedback intervention (Drinktest) aimed to reduce adults’ excessive drinking. It was expected that both strategies would add to Drinktest and would result in reductions in alcohol consumption by intrinsic motivation and the seizure of opportunities to act. Methods Participants were recruited online and through printed materials. Excessive drinking adults (N=2634) were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: original Drinktest, Drinktest plus prototype alteration, Drinktest plus cue reminder, and Drinktest plus prototype alteration and cue reminder. Evaluation took place at 1-month posttest and 6-month follow-up. Differences in drinking behavior, intentions, and behavioral willingness (ie, primary outcomes) were assessed by means of longitudinal multilevel analyses using a last observation carried forward method. Measures were based on self-reports. Results All conditions showed reductions in drinking behavior and willingness to drink, and increased intentions to reduce drinking. Prototype alteration (B=–0.15, Pprototypes. Thus, prototype alteration and cue reminder usage may be feasible and simple intervention strategies to promote reductions in alcohol consumption among adults, with an effect up to 6 months. Trial Registration Nederlands Trial Register (NTR): 4169; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4169 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6VD2jnxmB). PMID:25653199

Patient Dashboard: the use of a colour-coded computerised clinical reminder in Whanganui regional general practices.

Science.gov (United States)

McMenamin, John; Nicholson, Rick; Leech, Ken

2011-12-01

Clinical reminders have been shown to help general practice achieve an increase in some preventive care items, especially if they identify a patient's eligibility for the target item, prompt clinicians at the right time, provide a fast link to management tools and facilitate clinical recording. WRPHO has introduced the Patient Dashboard clinical reminder and monitored its impact on health targets. This paper reports the impact of a computerised colour-coded clinical reminder on achieving agreed health targets in Whanganui regional practices. Patient Dashboard was developed from previous versions in Auckland and Northland and provided to Whanganui regional practices with Primary Health Organisation (PHO) support. The Dashboard was linked with existing and new clinical management tools which automatically updated clinical records. Data from practices was pooled by Whanganui Regional Primary Health Organisation and target achievement rates reported over 15 months. Over the initial 15 months of Patient Dashboard use, recording of smoking status increased from 74% to 82% and of alcohol use from 15% to 47%. Screening for diabetes increased from 62% to 74%, cardiovascular risk assessment from 20% to 43%, cervical screening from 71% to 79%, and breast screening from 60% to 80%. Patient Dashboard was associated with increased performance indicators both for those targets which were part of a PHO programme and for targets without additional support.

The efficacy of treatment reminders of life with emphasis on integrative reminiscence on self-esteem and anxiety in widowed old men.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malihe Pishvaei

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Loss of wife besides the phenomenon of aging could cause some psychological disorders and may shorten the duration of this stage of life. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of treatment reminders of life with emphasis on integrative reminiscence on self-esteem and anxiety in widowed old men.This was a clinical trial with pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The study population included All 60 to 80 year old men living in Meshginshahr; among whom, 34 participants were selected using convenience sampling method. They were randomly allocated into two equal groups (experimental and control. The experimental group participated in therapy sessions and the control group did not receive any intervention. The research instruments were Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the General Anxiety Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariable covariance analysis in SSPS-19. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05.MANCOVA results showed that the treatment positively affected the variables of self-esteem and anxiety in old widowed men (p<0.001.The reminders of life therapy with emphasis on integrative reminiscence may enhance self-esteem and reduce anxiety in widowed old men. This treatment gives better results compared to the traditional treatments and it is recommended to be implemented in nursing homes.

Supporting adherence to antiretroviral therapy with mobile phone reminders: results from a cohort in South India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rashmi Rodrigues

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Adherence is central to the success of antiretroviral therapy. Supporting adherence has gained importance in HIV care in many national treatment programs. The ubiquity of mobile phones, even in resource-constrained settings, has provided an opportunity to utilize an inexpensive, contextually feasible technology for adherence support in HIV in these settings. We aimed to assess the influence of mobile phone reminders on adherence to antiretroviral therapy in South India. Participant experiences with the intervention were also studied. This is the first report of such an intervention for antiretroviral adherence from India, a country with over 800 million mobile connections. METHODS: STUDY DESIGN: Quasi-experimental cohort study involving 150 HIV-infected individuals from Bangalore, India, who were on antiretroviral therapy between April and July 2010. The intervention: All participants received two types of adherence reminders on their mobile phones, (i an automated interactive voice response (IVR call and (ii A non-interactive neutral picture short messaging service (SMS, once a week for 6 months. Adherence measured by pill count, was assessed at study recruitment and at months one, three, six, nine and twelve. Participant experiences were assessed at the end of the intervention period. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 38 years, 27% were female and 90% urban. Overall, 3,895 IVRs and 3,073 SMSs were sent to the participants over 6 months. Complete case analysis revealed that the proportion of participants with optimal adherence increased from 85% to 91% patients during the intervention period, an effect that was maintained 6 months after the intervention was discontinued (p = 0.016. Both, IVR calls and SMS reminders were considered non-intrusive and not a threat to privacy. A significantly higher proportion agreed that the IVR was helpful compared to the SMS (p<0.001. CONCLUSION: Mobile phone reminders may improve

NH3-SCR on Cu, Fe and Cu + Fe exchanged beta and SSZ-13 catalysts: Hydrothermal aging and propylene poisoning effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Aiyong; Wang, Yilin; Walter, Eric D.; Washton, Nancy M.

2017-01-01

Cu, Fe and Cu + Fe ion exchanged Beta and SSZ-13 catalysts were prepared by solution ion exchange using commercial NH 4 /Beta, and NH 4 /SSZ-13 that was prepared in-house. To study hydrothermal aging effects, Beta supported catalysts were aged hydrothermally at 700 °C and SSZ-13 supported catalysts were aged at 750 °C. In order to reveal the effects of Fe addition in the co-exchanged catalysts, these catalysts were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption-desorption, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), 27 Al-nuclear magnetic resonance ( 27 Al-NMR) and propylene coking followed with temperature programmed reaction (TPR), and further tested with standard NH 3 -SCR with and without the presence of propylene. Collectively, the catalyst characterizations and reaction testing indicated minor beneficial effects of Fe addition in Cu,Fe/Beta, where NH 3 -SCR activity, N 2 selectivity and hydrothermal stability were all slightly improved. In contrast, Fe addition did not show apparent beneficial effects in low-temperature SCR for the Cu,Fe/SSZ-13 case. In conclusion, at elevated reaction temperatures, however, the presence of Fe indeed considerably improved NO conversion and N 2 selectivity for the hydrothermally aged Cu,Fe/SSZ-13 catalyst in the presence of propylene.

Rudimentary functions:Important reminders of history and relationship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Y. Collings

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background. When Vygotsky suggested the term rudimentary functions for psychological phenomena, he drew a parallel with organismic rudiments that existed and continue to exist in a number of biological species. These rudiments used to play an important role in the life of an organism and allow us to study that life in the process of its development. Vygotsky originally gave three explicit examples of psychological rudimentary functions: 1 attributing an important decision to the result of a solitaire card game, 2 tying a knot in a handkerchief in order to remember and do something later, and 3 counting on one’s fingers. Objective. The purpose of this article is to offer a contemporary overview and paths for development of L.S. Vygotsky’s notion of rudimentary function. Design. This paper, in the genre of a theoretical article, drew on existing research and theoretical literature to advance a theory. I analyzed Vygotsky’s original example of a solitaire game and similar actions (for example, flipping a coin, arguing that these actions represent key events mediating choice and exercising human will over affect. I then focused on three more psychological functions that fit Vygotsky’s definition of rudiments: 1 photographic memory and déjà vu as instances of historically primitive eidetic memory, 2 talking to oneself aloud as a rudiment of a key event forming the self-regulatory mechanism of inner speech in childhood, and 3 fantasizing, which could remind us of our young age, when imagination readily created what was lacking in external world. Results. This analysis allowed me to vividly illustrate the historical and relational focus of Vygotsky’s theories. Conclusions. Rudimentary functions, often perceived as mysterious, in their simplicity can be powerful reminders that historically primitive functions do not disappear, but enter complex relationships with other psychological functions, and that many relationships are possible within

Au-CuO core-shell nanoparticles design and development for the selective determination of Vitamin B6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Deivasigamani Ranjith; Manoj, Devaraj; Santhanalakshmi, Jayadevan; Shim, Jae-Jin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Seed mediated growth of Au-CuO core-shell nanoparticle. • Au-CuO core-shell nanoparticle provided good peak current for pyridoxine. • Au-CuO/MWCNTs/GC exhibited excellent vitamin B 6 peak separation with other vitamin. - Abstract: This paper reports the synthesis of gold (core)-copper oxide (shell) nanoparticles using a simple seed mediated growth method. Pre-synthesized Au nanoparticles were used as seed materials for copper oxide shell growth, which were shown to be effective for Au-CuO core-shell formation. The novelty of this assembly strategy is that the exploitation of the Cu-ligand, which is thermolyzed on the Au nanoseed surface, results in the formation of CuO. Au-CuO core-shell nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The as prepared Au-CuO was used to fabricate a Au-CuO/MWCNTs/GC-modified electrode, which was applied to Vitamin B 6 (pyridoxine) determination by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The MWCNTs enhance the pyridoxine oxidation rate by increasing the peak current with Au-CuO, hence pyridoxine oxidized lower operating potentials. The Au-CuO/MWCNTs/GC-modified electrode showed excellent electrochemical performance towards pyridoxine (PY) in the presence of other typical vitamins, such as riboflavin, ascorbic acid and uric acid. The linear calibration graph was obtained over the PY concentration range of 0.79 μM–18.4 μM and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 0.15 μM. The Au-CuO/MWCNTs/GC-modified electrode showed good stability, repeatability and recovery of real sample analysis

A simple and selective method for the separation of Cu radioisotopes from nickel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan Xianfeng [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom)]. E-mail: x.fan@bham.ac.uk; Parker, David J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom); Smith, Mike D. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom); Ingram, Andy [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom); Yang Zhufang [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom); Seville, Jonathan P.K. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT Birmingham (United Kingdom)

2006-10-15

Separation of copper radioisotopes from a nickel target is normally performed using solvent extraction or anion exchange rather than using cationic exchange. A commonly held opinion is that cationic exchangers have very similar thermodynamic complexation constants for metallic ions with identical charges, therefore making the separation very difficult or impossible. The results presented in this article indicate that the selectivity of Chelex-100 (a cationic ion exchanger) for Cu radioisotope and Ni ions not only depends on the thermodynamic complexation constant in the resin but also markedly varies with the concentration of mobile H{sup +}. In our developed method, separation of copper radioisotopes from a nickel target was fulfilled in a column filled with Chelex-100 via controlling the HNO{sub 3} concentration of the eluent, and the separation is much more effective, simple and economical in comparison with the common method of anion exchange. For an irradiated nickel target with 650 mg Ni, after separation, the loss of Cu radioisotopes in the nickel portion was reduced from 30% to 0.33% of the total initial radioactivity and the nickel mixed into the radioactive products was reduced from 9.5 to 0.5 mg. This significant improvement will make subsequent labeling much easier and reduce consumption of chelating agents and other chemicals during labeling. If the labeled agent is used in human medical applications, the developed method will significantly decrease the uptake of Ni and chelating agents by patients, therefore reducing both the stress on human body associated with clearing the chemicals from blood and tissue and the risk of various types of acute and chronic disorder due to exposure to Ni.

Cu (II) binded chitosan/Fe3O4 nanocomomposite as a new biosorbent for efficient and selective removal of phosphate.

Science.gov (United States)

Zavareh, Siamak; Behrouzi, Zahra; Avanes, Armen

2017-08-01

The aim of this study was to develop a chitosan-based magnetic adsorbent for selective and effective removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions. For this purpose, Cu-chitosan/Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite was prepared using a facile method and characterized. The prepared adsorbent exhibited more porous surface with higher specific area compared to neat chitosan based on SEM and BET studies. The FTIR and EDX studies indicated the presence of Cu(II) bonded to the adsorbent surface. Crystalline properties of the adsorbent were also studied using XRD. Experimental isotherm data were fitted to nonlinear forms of Langmuir and Freunlich models. The maximum capacity for the modified adsorbent was calculated to be 88mg P 2 O 5 /g, much higher than that for neat chitosan and chitosan/Fe 3 O 4 according to the Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption by the modified adsorbent had fast kinetics and obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Interestingly, the maximum removal efficiency for the modified adsorbent was observed in neutral pH values, pHs of natural waters. A high selectivity against natural waters common anions as well as good regeneration ability was obtained for the introduced adsorbent. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deuterium transport in Cu, CuCrZr, and Cu/Be

Science.gov (United States)

Anderl, R. A.; Hankins, M. R.; Longhurst, G. R.; Pawelko, R. J.

This paper presents the results of deuterium implantation/permeation experiments and TMAP4 simulations for a CuCrZr alloy, for OFHC-Cu and for a Cu/Be bi-layered structure at temperatures from 700 to 800 K. Experiments used a mass-analyzed, 3-keV D 3+ ion beam with particle flux densities of 5 × 10 19 to 7 × 10 19 D/m 2 s. Effective diffusivities and surface molecular recombination coefficients were derived giving Arrhenius pre-exponentials and activation energies for each material: CuCrZr alloy, (2.0 × 10 -2 m 2/s, 1.2 eV) for diffusivity and (2.9 × x10 -14 m 4/s, 1.92 eV) for surface molecular recombination coefficients; OFHC Cu, (2.1 × 10 -6 m 2/s, 0.52 eV) for diffusivity and (9.1 × 10 -18 m 4/s, 0.99 eV) for surface molecular recombination coefficients. TMAP4 simulation of permeation data measured for a Cu/Be bi-layer sample was achieved using a four-layer structure (Cu/BeO interface/Be/BeO back surface) and recommended values for diffusivity and solubility in Be, BeO and Cu.

Developing the Medication Reminder Mobile Application "Seeb".

Science.gov (United States)

Saghaeiannejad-Isfahani, Sakineh; Ehteshami, Asghar; Savari, Ebtesam; Samimi, Ali

2017-06-01

Today, the structure of comprehensive health care emphasizes self-care more than therapy. Medication therapy is a strong instrument for therapy received through the health setting, especially in medication area. Error in medication administration has produced different problems and they cost billions of dollars every year. Regarding mobile phone extensions, we developed a local medication reminder mobile application called "Seeb" as a suitable solution for decreasing medication errors for Iranians. We conducted a mixed methods study in three Phases: 1) Comparative study of existing mobile applications; 2) developed its object-oriented model; 3) Developed the initial version of "Seeb" that was approved for production. This application was designed for the appropriate medication administration including time and dosages through: recording patient and medication data; scheduling patients' medication; and reporting medication administration on progress. "Seeb" has been designed in compliance with Iranian health information technologists and pharmacists requirements. It is expected to reduce medication error and improve patient adherence to medical prescriptions.

REMINDER : deadline for submission of reimbursements claims to UNIQA

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2011-01-01

We would like to remind you of the resolution which took effect from 1 June 2010 changing the deadline for submitting a claim from 24 months to 12 months from the invoice date (as opposed to from the time of treatment). As a transitional measure, it is still possible to submit invoices issued prior to 1 June 2010 as long as they do not date back to more than two years (from the invoice date) at the time of submission. The deadline for transitional claims is 31 May 2011. You are advised to check any outstanding submissions that you have since, as from 1 June 2011, no transitional claims will be accepted.  

Selective removals of heavy metals (Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Cd(2+)) from wastewater by gelation with alginate for effective metal recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fei; Lu, Xingwen; Li, Xiao-yan

2016-05-05

A novel method that uses the aqueous sodium alginate solution for direct gelation with metal ions is developed for effective removal and recovery of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. The experimental study was conducted on Pb(2+), Cu(2+), and Cd(2+) as the model heavy metals. The results show that gels can be formed rapidly between the metals and alginate in less than 10 min and the gelation rates fit well with the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The optimum dosing ratio of alginate to the metal ions was found to be between 2:1 and 3:1 for removing Pb(2+) and around 4:1 for removing Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) from wastewater, and the metal removal efficiency by gelation increased as the solution pH increased. Alginate exhibited a higher gelation affinity toward Pb(2+) than Cu(2+) and Cd(2+), which allowed a selective removal of Pb(2+) from the wastewater in the presence of Cu(2+) and Cd(2+) ions. Chemical analysis of the gels suggests that the gelation mainly occurred between the metal ions and the -COO(-) and -OH groups on alginate. By simple calcination of the metal-laden gels at 700 °C for 1 h, the heavy metals can be well recovered as valuable resources. The metals obtained after the thermal treatment are in the form of PbO, CuO, and CdO nanopowders with crystal sizes of around 150, 50, and 100 nm, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermochemical properties of oxides in Y-Ba-Cu-O, Sr-Bi-O, Cu-Nb-O, Sr-Cu-O, Ca-Cu-O, Cu-O and Hg-Ba-Ca-Cu-O systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moiseev, G.K.; Vatolin, N.A.; Il'inykh, N.I.

2000-01-01

Thermochemical properties (ΔH 0 298 , S 0 298 , H 0 298 -H 0 0 , C p (T), C p at T>T melt ) of complex oxides in Y-Ba-Cu-O, Sr-Bi-O, Cu-Nb-O, Sr-Cu-O, Ca-Cu-O, Cu-O and Hg-Ba-Ca-Cu-O systems obtained with application of calculation methods are presented. Nonexperimental methods of estimation, revision and correction of standard formation enthalpies of inorganic compounds are described [ru

A daily SMS reminder increases adherence to asthma treatment: a three-month follow-up study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strandbygaard, Ulla; Thomsen, Simon Francis; Backer, Vibeke

2010-01-01

Poor adherence to asthma treatment is a well-recognised challenge and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and consumption of health care resources. This study examined the impact of receiving a daily text message reminder on one's cell phone on adherence to asthma treatment....

Highly luminescent colloidal Eu(3)+-doped KZnF(3) nanoparticles for the selective and sensitive detection of Cu(II) ions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Shyam; Chatti, Manjunath; Mahalingam, Venkataramanan

2014-03-17

This article describes a green synthetic approach to prepare water dispersible perovskite-type Eu3+-doped KZnF3 nanoparticles, carried out using environmentally friendly microwave irradiation at low temperature (85 8C) with water as a solvent. Incorporation of Eu3+ ions into the KZnF3 matrix is confirmed by strong red emission upon ultraviolet (UV) excitation of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are coated with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), which enhances the dispersibility of the nanoparticles in hydrophilic solvents. The strong red emission from Eu3+ ions is selectively quenched upon addition of CuII ions, thus making the nanoparticles a potential CuII sensing material. This sensing ability is highly reversible by the addition of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), with recovery of almost 90% of the luminescence. If the nanoparticles are strongly attached to a positively charged surface, dipping the surface in a CuII solution leads to the quenching of Eu3+ luminescence, which can be recovered after dipping in an EDTA solution. This process can be repeated for more than five cycles with only a slight decrease in the sensing ability. In addition to sensing, the strong luminescence from Eu3+-doped KZnF3 nanoparticles could be used as a tool for bioimaging.

Loss of reserves of Cu in liver when Cu supplements are withdrawn from dairy herds in the Waikato region.

Science.gov (United States)

Hittmann, A R; Grace, N D; Knowles, S O

2012-03-01

To monitor the consequences of withdrawing mineral Cu supplements from two dairy herds with initially high concentrations of Cu in liver. Two herds were selected from dairy farms in the Waikato region of New Zealand that participated in an earlier survey of Cu supplementation practices and Cu status of dairy cows. The herds were fed pasture, grass and maize silage, plus palm kernel expeller (PKE) containing 25-30 mg Cu/kg dry matter (DM) fed at 2-4 kg/cow/day. No mineral Cu supplements were supplied from January 2009. Pasture samples were collected for mineral analysis in September 2008 and April 2009. Concentration of Cu in liver biopsies from the same 9-10 cows per herd was measured on three occasions between April 2009 and May 2010. Pastures on both farms contained 10 mg Cu/kg DM, 0.1-0.5 mg Mo/kg DM and 3.5-4.0 g S/kg DM. The initial herd mean concentrations of Cu in liver were 1,500 (SD 590) and 1,250 (SD 640) μmol Cu/kg fresh tissue. In the absence of mineral Cu supplements, those mean concentrations decreased over 12 months to 705 (SD 370) and 1,120 (SD 560) μmol Cu/kg fresh tissue, respectively. For cows in the first herd, the rate of depletion of liver Cu reserves was influenced by initial concentration of Cu, such that high concentration led to faster loss according to first-order kinetics. Mineral Cu supplementation was not necessary over 12 months for two dairy herds with mean concentrations of Cu in liver >1,250 μmol Cu/kg fresh tissue, grazing pastures containing 10 mg Cu/kg DM and concentrations of Mo <1 mg/kg DM. The quantity and particularly the duration of feeding PKE appeared to be a factor in whether or not the herd lost substantial reserves of Cu in liver during the year. However, the Cu status of both herds in this study was more than adequate to support late pregnancy and mating. CLINICAL REVELANCE: Copper status of the herd should be monitored and on-farm management of Cu nutrition should take into account all sources contributing to

Methane Oxidation to Methanol Catalyzed by Cu-Oxo Clusters Stabilized in NU-1000 Metal-Organic Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikuno, Takaaki; Zheng, Jian; Vjunov, Aleksei; Sanchez-Sanchez, Maricruz; Ortuño, Manuel A; Pahls, Dale R; Fulton, John L; Camaioni, Donald M; Li, Zhanyong; Ray, Debmalya; Mehdi, B Layla; Browning, Nigel D; Farha, Omar K; Hupp, Joseph T; Cramer, Christopher J; Gagliardi, Laura; Lercher, Johannes A

2017-08-02

Copper oxide clusters synthesized via atomic layer deposition on the nodes of the metal-organic framework (MOF) NU-1000 are active for oxidation of methane to methanol under mild reaction conditions. Analysis of chemical reactivity, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations are used to determine structure/activity relations in the Cu-NU-1000 catalytic system. The Cu-loaded MOF contained Cu-oxo clusters of a few Cu atoms. The Cu was present under ambient conditions as a mixture of ∼15% Cu + and ∼85% Cu 2+ . The oxidation of methane on Cu-NU-1000 was accompanied by the reduction of 9% of the Cu in the catalyst from Cu 2+ to Cu + . The products, methanol, dimethyl ether, and CO 2 , were desorbed with the passage of 10% water/He at 135 °C, giving a carbon selectivity for methane to methanol of 45-60%. Cu oxo clusters stabilized in NU-1000 provide an active, first generation MOF-based, selective methane oxidation catalyst.

A smart magnetic resonance contrast agent for selective copper sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Que, Emily L; Chang, Christopher J

2006-12-20

We describe the synthesis and properties of Copper-Gad-1 (CG1), a new type of smart magnetic resonance (MR) sensor for selective detection of copper. CG1 is composed of a gadolinium contrast agent core tethered to copper-selective recognition motif. Cu2+-induced modulation of inner-sphere water access to the Gd3+ center provides a sensing mechanism for reporting Cu2+ levels by reading out changes in longitudinal proton relaxivity values. CG1 features good selectivity for Cu2+ over abundant biological cations and a 41% increase in relaxivity upon Cu2+ binding and is capable of detecting micromolar changes in Cu2+ concentrations in aqueous media.

Effect of mailed reminders on the response rate in surveys among patients in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wensing, M; Mainz, Jan; Kramme, O

1999-01-01

Randomized trials were performed in Denmark and The Netherlands to determine the effect of mailed reminders on the response rate in surveys among patients in general practice. In both countries, general practitioners handed out questionnaires to 200 adult patients who came to visit them. An inter...

Differences in Cu content in selected mushroom species growing in the same unpolluted areas in Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Mleczek, Mirosław; Siwulski, Marek; Mikołajczak, Patrycja; Gąsecka, Monika; Rissmann, Iwona; Goliński, Piotr; Sobieralski, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to estimate copper (Cu) accumulation efficiency in whole-fruiting bodies of 18 edible and non-edible wild growing mushrooms collected from 27 places in the Wielkopolska Voivodeship. Mushrooms were collected each time from the same places to estimate the diversity in Cu accumulation between tested mushroom species within 3 consecutive years of study (2011-2013). The study results revealed various accumulation of Cu in the whole-tested mushroom fruiting bodies. The highest mean accumulation of Cu was observed in Macrolepiota procera (119.4 ± 20.0 mg kg(-1) dm), while the lowest was in Suillus luteus and Russula fellea fruiting bodies (16.1 ± 3.0 and 18.8 ± 4.6 mg kg(-1) dm, respectively). Significant differences in Cu accumulation between mushroom species collected in 2011 and in the two following years (2012 and 2013) were observed. The results indicated that sporadic consumption of these mushrooms was not related to excessive intake of Cu for the human body (no toxic influence on health).

Impact of sending email reminders of the legal requirement for posting results on ClinicalTrials.gov: cohort embedded pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Maruani, Annabel; Boutron, Isabelle; Baron, Gabriel; Ravaud, Philippe

2014-09-19

To evaluate the impact of sending an email to responsible parties of completed trials that do not comply with the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act 801 legislation, to remind them of the legal requirement to post results. Cohort embedded pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov. 190 out of 379 trials randomly selected by computer generated randomization list to receive the intervention (personalized emails structured as a survey and sent by one of us to responsible parties of the trials, indirectly reminding them of the legal requirement and potential penalties for non-compliance). The primary outcome was the proportion of results posted on ClinicalTrials.gov at three months. The secondary outcome was the proportion posted at six months. In a second step, two assessors blinded to the intervention group collected the date of the first results being received on ClinicalTrials.gov. A post hoc sensitivity analysis excluding trials wrongly included was performed. Among 379 trials included, 190 were randomized to receive the email intervention. The rate of posting of results did not differ at three months between trials with or without the intervention: 36/190 (19%) v 24/189 (13%), respectively (relative risk 1.5, 95% confidence interval 0.9 to 2.4, P=0.096) but did at six months: 46/190 (24%) v 27/189 (14%), 1.7, 1.1 to 2.6, P=0.014. In the sensitivity analysis, which excluded 48/379 trials (13%), 26/190 (14%) and 22/189 (12%), respectively, results were significant at three months (relative risk 5.1, 1.1 to 22.9, P=0.02) and at six months (4.1, 1.3 to 10.6, P=0.001). Sending email reminders about the FDA's legal requirement to post results at ClinicalTrials.gov improved significantly the posting rate at six months but not at three months.Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01658254. © Maruani et al 2014.

Selective Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol and Crude Glycerol (a By-Product or Waste Stream from the Biodiesel Industry to 1,2-Propanediol over B2O3 Promoted Cu/Al2O3 Catalysts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malaya R. Nanda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The performance of boron oxide (B2O3-promoted Cu/Al2O3 catalyst in the selective hydrogenolysis of glycerol and crude glycerol (a by-product or waste stream from the biodiesel industry to produce 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO was investigated. The catalysts were characterized using N2-adsorption-desorption isotherm, Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES, X-ray diffraction (XRD, ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA, temperature programmed reduction (TPR, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM. Incorporation of B2O3 to Cu/Al2O3 was found to enhance the catalytic activity. At the optimum condition (250 °C, 6 MPa H2 pressure, 0.1 h−1 WHSV (weight hourly space velocity, and 5Cu-B/Al2O3 catalyst, 10 wt% aqueous solution of glycerol was converted into 1,2-PDO at 98 ± 2% glycerol conversion and 98 ± 2% selectivity. The effects of temperature, pressure, boron addition amount, and liquid hourly space velocity were studied. Different grades of glycerol (pharmaceutical, technical, or crude glycerol were used in the process to investigate the stability and resistance to deactivation of the selected 5Cu-B/Al2O3 catalyst.

Synthesis of a highly dispersed CuO catalyst on CoAl-HT for the epoxidation of styrene.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Rui; Yang, Pengfei; Pan, Yongning; Li, Yunpeng; He, Yufei; Feng, Junting; Li, Dianqing

2017-10-10

A highly dispersed CuO catalyst was prepared by the deposition-precipitation method and evaluated for the catalytic epoxidation of styrene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant under solvent acetonitrile conditions. Compared with MgAl hydrotalcite (MgAl-HT)-, MgO-, TiO 2 -, C-, and MCM-22-supported catalysts, CuO/CoAl-HT exhibited preferable activity and selectivity towards styrene oxide (72% selectivity at 99.5% styrene conversion) due to its high dispersion of CuO and surface area of Cu. The improved dispersion of CuO/CoAl-HT could be ascribed to the nature of HT support, especially the synergistic effect of acidic and basic sites on the surface, which facilitated the formation of highly dispersed CuO species. A structure-performance relationship study indicated that copper(ii) in CuO was the active site for the epoxidation and oxidation of styrene, and that Cu II of rich electronic density favored the improvement of selectivity of styrene oxide. Based on these results, a reaction mechanism was proposed. Moreover, the preferred catalytic performance of CuO/CoAl-HT could be maintained in five reused cycles.

Effect of oxidant on resputtering of Bi from Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grace, J.M.; McDonald, D.B.; Reiten, M.T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R.T.; Gray, K.E.

1992-01-01

The type and partial pressure of oxidant mixed with argon can affect the selective sputtering of Bi in composite-target, magnetron-sputtered Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O films. Comparative studies using oxygen and ozone show that ozone is a more potent oxidant, as well as a more potent source of resputterers than is oxygen. Severe resputtering from ozone is significantly reduced by a -40 V potential on the sample block. We suggest that oxygen causes resputtering by forming O + 2 , which interacts with the target to produce energetic O - . In contrast, ozone may form lower-energy O - by electron impact in the dark space. Negative oxygen ions from the target itself may be responsible for a background resputtering effect. Our results and those found for Y--Ba--Cu--O by others are comparable. Bi in Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O behaves as Ba in Y--Ba--Cu--O, with regard to selective resputtering; furthermore, the response of Sr, Ca, and Cu to oxygen in sputtered Bi--Sr--Ca--Cu--O is similar to what is observed for Cu in Y--Ba--Cu--O

78 FR 42889 - Pipeline Safety: Reminder of Requirements for Utility LP-Gas and LPG Pipeline Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-18

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 49 CFR Part 192 [Docket No. PHMSA-2013-0097] Pipeline Safety: Reminder of Requirements for Utility LP-Gas and LPG Pipeline Systems AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), DOT. ACTION...

A sensitive fluorescence biosensor for alkaline phosphatase activity based on the Cu(II)-dependent DNAzyme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Mengmeng; Guo, Yajuan; Wang, Lixu [College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116 (China); Luo, Fang, E-mail: luofang0812@163.com [College of Biological Science and Technology, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116 (China); Lin, Cuiying, E-mail: lcuiying@fzu.edu.cn [College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116 (China); Lin, Zhenyu; Chen, Guonan [College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350116 (China)

2016-12-15

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) plays an important role in phosphate metabolism processes; deviation from its normal level may indicate different kinds of diseases, so it is highly necessary to develop some simple and sensitive methods to monitor the ALP level. In this study, a simple, high selective, and sensitive fluorescent biosensor has been proposed for ALP activity determination. The Cu(II)-dependent DNAzyme (Cu-Enzyme) are divided into two parts: Cu-Enzyme 1 and Cu-Enzyme 2, and labelled with alkyne and azido groups, respectively. The Cu-substrate (Cu-Sub) is labelled with a FAM fluorophore (6-carboxyfluorescein) at the 3′-end and an additional quencher (BHQ1) at the 5′-end. The 5′-end of Cu-Enzyme 1 is labelled with BHQ1 as well. The hybridization of the Cu-Enzyme 1 and Cu-Enzyme 2 with Cu-Sub strand results in the low background fluorescence signal because the fluorescence from FAM is quenched. The addition of ALP can hydrolyze AA-P into AA, which can reduce Cu(II) into Cu(I) and in turn catalyze the cycloaddition of Cu-Enzyme 1 and Cu-Enzyme 2 to form a modified Cu-Enzyme. Then the modified Cu-Enzyme catalyzes the cleavage of the Cu-Sub strands into two pieces. One piece containing FAM fluorophore can easily diffuse into solution and give off a strong fluorescence signal. The enhanced fluorescent intensity has a linear relationship with the ALP concentration in the range of 0.36–54.55 U L{sup −1} with the detection limit of 0.14 U L{sup −1} (S/N = 3). The proposed biosensor has been successfully applied to detect ALP in serum samples with satisfied results. - Highlights: • We have proposed a simple, high selective and sensitive fluorescent biosensor for ALP. • The biosensor combines the high selectivity and the click reaction and the high sensitivity of the fluorescence detection. • The biosensor has been successfully applied to detect ALP in serum samples with satisfied results.

Improvement of catalytic activity in selective oxidation of styrene with H{sub 2}O{sub 2} over spinel Mg–Cu ferrite hollow spheres in water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tong, Jinhui, E-mail: jinhuitong@126.com [Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou 730070 (China); Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China); Cai, Xiaodong; Wang, Haiyan; Zhang, Qianping [Key Laboratory of Eco-Environment-Related Polymer Materials, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou 730070 (China); Key Laboratory of Gansu Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070 (China)

2014-07-01

Graphical abstract: Uniform spinel Mg–Cu ferrite hollow spheres were prepared using carbon spheres as templates. Solid spinel Mg{sub 0.5}Cu{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ferrite nanocrystals were also prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion, hydrothermal and coprecipitation methods for comparison. The samples were found to be efficient catalysts for oxidation of styrene using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. Especially, in the case of Mg{sub 0.5}Cu{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} hollow spheres, obvious improvement on catalytic activity was observed and 21.2% of styrene conversion and 75.2% of selectivity for benzaldehyde were obtained at 80 °C for 6 h reaction in water. The catalyst can be magnetically separated easily for reuse and no obvious loss of activity was observed when reused in six consecutive runs. - Highlights: • Uniform spinel ferrite hollow spheres were prepared by a simple method. • The catalyst has been proved much more efficient for styrene oxidation than the reported analogues. • The catalyst can be easily separated by external magnetic field and has exhibited excellent reusability. • The catalytic system is environmentally friendly. - Abstract: Uniform spinel Mg–Cu ferrite hollow spheres were prepared using carbon spheres as templates. For comparison, solid Mg–Cu ferrite nanocrystals were also prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion, hydrothermal and coprecipitation methods. All the samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N{sub 2} physisorption. The samples were found to be efficient catalysts for oxidation of styrene using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. Especially, in the case of Mg{sub 0.5}Cu{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} hollow spheres, obvious improvement on catalytic activity was observed, and 21.2% of styrene conversion and 75.2% of selectivity for benzaldehyde were obtained at 80 °C for 6 h reaction in water. The catalyst can be

Reducing drug–herb interaction risk with a computerized reminder system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin SS

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Sheng-Shing Lin,1,2 Chiu-Lin Tsai,3 Ching-Yeh Tu,3 Ching-Liang Hsieh2,4,5 1Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, 2Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, 3Division of Chinese Medicine, Department of Pharmacy, China Medical University Hospital, 4Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, 5Research Center for Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM and Western medicine are both popular in Taiwan. Approximately 14.1% of Taiwanese residents use Western drugs and Chinese herbs concurrently; therefore, drug–herb interaction is critical to patient safety. This paper presents a new procedure for reducing the risk of drug interactions.Methods: Hospital computer systems are modified to ensure that drug–herb interactions are automatically detected when a TCM practitioner is writing a prescription. A pop-up reminder appears, warning of interactions, and the practitioner may adjust doses, delete herbs, or leave the prescription unchanged. A pharmacist will receive interaction information through the system and provide health education to the patient.Results: During the 2011–2013 study period, 256 patients received 891 herbal prescriptions with potential drug–herb interactions. Three of the 50 patients who concurrently used ginseng and antidiabetic drugs manifested hypoglycemia (fasting blood sugar level ≤70 mg/dL.Conclusion: Drug–herb interactions can cause adverse reactions. A computerized reminder system can enable TCM practitioners to reduce the risk of drug–herb interactions. In addition, health education for patients is crucial in avoiding adverse reaction by the interactions. Keywords: Traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine, adverse reaction

Effect of Mobile Phone Text Message Reminders on Routine Immunization Uptake in Pakistan: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazi, Abdul Momin; Ali, Murtaza; Zubair, Khurram; Kalimuddin, Hussain; Kazi, Abdul Nafey; Iqbal, Saleem Perwaiz; Collet, Jean-Paul; Ali, Syed Asad

2018-03-07

Improved routine immunization (RI) coverage is recommended as the priority public health strategy to decrease vaccine-preventable diseases and eradicate polio in Pakistan and worldwide. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether customized, automated, one-way text messaging (short message service, SMS) reminders delivered to caregivers via mobile phones when a child is due for an RI visit can improve vaccination uptake and timelines in Pakistan. This was a randomized controlled trial, conducted in an urban squatter settlement area of Karachi, Pakistan. Infants less than 2 weeks of age with at least one family member who had a valid mobile phone connection and was comfortable receiving and reading SMS text messages were included. Participants were randomized to the intervention (standard care + one-way SMS reminder) or control (standard care) groups. The primary outcome was to compare the proportion of children immunized up to date at 18 weeks of age. Vaccine given at 6, 10, and 14 weeks schedule includes DPT-Hep-B-Hib vaccine (ie, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus; hepatitis B; and Haemophilus influenza type b) and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Data were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence and tested for both per protocol (PP) and intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses. Out of those approached, 84.3% (300/356) of the participants were eligible for enrollment and 94.1% (318/338) of the participants had a working mobile phone. Only children in the PP analyses, who received an SMS reminder for vaccine uptake at 6 weeks visit, showed a statistically significant difference (96.0%, 86/90 vs 86.4%, 102/118; P=.03).The immunization coverage was consistently higher in the intervention group according to ITT analyses at the 6 weeks scheduled visit (76.0% vs 71.3%, P=.36). The 10 weeks scheduled visit (58.7% vs 52.7%, P=.30) and the 14 weeks scheduled visit (31.3% vs 26.0%, P=.31), however, were not statistically significant. Automated simple one-way SMS

Heterobimetallic transition metal/rare earth metal bifunctional catalysis: a Cu/Sm/Schiff base complex for syn-selective catalytic asymmetric nitro-Mannich reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Handa, Shinya; Gnanadesikan, Vijay; Matsunaga, Shigeki; Shibasaki, Masakatsu

2010-04-07

The full details of a catalytic asymmetric syn-selective nitro-Mannich reaction promoted by heterobimetallic Cu/Sm/dinucleating Schiff base complexes are described, demonstrating the effectiveness of the heterobimetallic transition metal/rare earth metal bifunctional catalysis. The first-generation system prepared from Cu(OAc)(2)/Sm(O-iPr)(3)/Schiff base 1a = 1:1:1 with an achiral phenol additive was partially successful for achieving the syn-selective catalytic asymmetric nitro-Mannich reaction. The substrate scope and limitations of the first-generation system remained problematic. After mechanistic studies on the catalyst prepared from Sm(O-iPr)(3), we reoptimized the catalyst preparation method, and a catalyst derived from Sm(5)O(O-iPr)(13) showed broader substrate generality as well as higher reactivity and stereoselectivity compared to Sm(O-iPr)(3). The optimal system with Sm(5)O(O-iPr)(13) was applicable to various aromatic, heteroaromatic, and isomerizable aliphatic N-Boc imines, giving products in 66-99% ee and syn/anti = >20:1-13:1. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of nemonapride is also demonstrated using the catalyst derived from Sm(5)O(O-iPr)(13).

Why love has wings and sex has not: how reminders of love and sex influence creative and analytic thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

Förster, Jens; Epstude, Kai; Ozelsel, Amina

2009-11-01

This article examines cognitive links between romantic love and creativity and between sexual desire and analytic thought based on construal level theory. It suggests that when in love, people typically focus on a long-term perspective, which should enhance holistic thinking and thereby creative thought, whereas when experiencing sexual encounters, they focus on the present and on concrete details enhancing analytic thinking. Because people automatically activate these processing styles when in love or when they experience sex, subtle or even unconscious reminders of love versus sex should suffice to change processing modes. Two studies explicitly or subtly reminded participants of situations of love or sex and found support for this hypothesis.

Growth of intermetallics between Sn/Ni/Cu, Sn/Ag/Cu and Sn/Cu layered structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horváth, Barbara; Illés, Balázs; Shinohara, Tadashi

2014-01-01

Intermetallic growth mechanisms and rates are investigated in Sn/Ni/Cu, Sn/Ag/Cu and Sn/Cu layer systems. An 8–10 μm thick Sn surface finish layer was electroplated onto a Cu substrate with a 1.5–2 μm thick Ni or Ag barrier layer. In order to induce intermetallic layer growth, the samples were aged in elevated temperatures: 50 °C and 125 °C. Intermetallic layer growth was checked by focused ion beam–scanning ion microscope. The microstructures and chemical compositions of the intermetallic layers were observed with a transmission electron microscope. It has been found that Ni barrier layers can effectively block the development of Cu 6 Sn 5 intermetallics. The intermetallic growth characteristics in the Sn/Cu and Sn/Ni/Cu systems are very similar. The intermetallic layer grows towards the Sn layer and forms a discrete layer. Differences were observed only in the growth gradients and surface roughness of the intermetallic layer which may explain the different tin whiskering properties. It was observed that the intermetallic layer growth mechanisms are completely different in the Ag barrier layers compared to the Ni layers. In the case of Sn/Ag/Cu systems, the Sn and Cu diffused through the Ag layer, formed Cu 6 Sn 5 intermetallics mainly at the Sn/Ag interface and consumed the Ag barrier layer. - Highlights: • Intermetallic growth was characterised in Sn/Ni/Cu, Sn/Ag/Cu and Sn/Cu layer systems. • Intermetallic growth rates and roughness are similar in the Sn/Cu and Sn/Ni/Cu systems. • Sn/Ni/Cu system contains the following intermetallic layer structure Sn–Ni3Sn4–Ni3Sn2–Ni3Sn–Ni. • In the case of Sn/Ag/Cu systems the Sn and Cu diffusion consumes the Ag barrier layer. • When Cu reaches the Sn/Ag interface a large amount of Cu 6 Sn 5 forms above the Ag layer

Impact of health portal enrollment with email reminders on adherence to clinic appointments: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Horvath, Monica; Levy, Janet; L'Engle, Pete; Carlson, Boyd; Ahmad, Asif; Ferranti, Jeffrey

2011-05-26

Internet portal technologies that provide access to portions of electronic health records have the potential to revolutionize patients' involvement in their care. However, relatively few descriptions of the demographic characteristics of portal enrollees or of the effects of portal technology on quality outcomes exist. This study examined data from patients who attended one of seven Duke Medicine clinics and who were offered the option of enrolling in and using the Duke Medicine HealthView portal (HVP). The HVP allows patients to manage details of their appointment scheduling and provides automated email appointment reminders in addition to the telephone and mail reminders that all patients receive. Our objective was to test whether portal enrollment with an email reminder functionality is significantly related to decreases in rates of appointment "no-shows," which are known to impair clinic operational efficiency. Appointment activity during a 1-year period was examined for all patients attending one of seven Duke Medicine clinics. Patients were categorized as portal enrollees or as nonusers either by their status at time of appointment or at the end of the 1-year period. Demographic characteristics and no-show rates among these groups were compared. A binomial logistic regression model was constructed to measure the adjusted impact of HVP enrollment on no-show rates, given confounding factors. To demonstrate the effect of HVP use over time, monthly no-show rates were calculated for patient appointment keeping and contrasted between preportal and postportal deployment periods. Across seven clinics, 58,942 patients, 15.7% (9239/58,942) of whom were portal enrollees, scheduled 198,199 appointments with an overall no-show rate of 9.9% (19,668/198,199). We found that HVP enrollees were significantly more likely to be female, white, and privately insured compared with nonusers. Bivariate no-show rate differences between portal enrollment groups varied widely according

Coordination Environment of Copper Sites in Cu-CHA Zeolite Investigated by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Godiksen, Anita; Stappen, Frederick N.; Vennestrøm, Peter N. R.

2014-01-01

Cu-CHA combines high activity for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) reaction with better hydrothermal stability and selectivity compared to other copper-substituted zeolites. At the same time Cu-CHA offers an opportunity for unraveling the coordination environment of the copper centers since...... the zeolite framework is very simple with only one crystallographically independent tetrahedral site (T-site). In this study the results of an X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigation of ion-exchanged Cu-CHA zeolite with a Si/Al ratio of 14 ± 1 is presented. Different dehydration treatments...... of the EPR silent monomeric Cu2+ in copper-substituted zeolites is suggested to be copper species with an approximate trigonal coordination sphere appearing during the dehydration. After complete dehydration at 250 °C the majority of the EPR silent Cu2+ is suggested to exist as Cu2+–OH– coordinated to two...

Impact of late-to-refill reminder calls on medication adherence in the Medicare Part D population: evaluation of a randomized controlled study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taitel MS

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Michael S Taitel, Ying Mu, Angshuman Gooptu, Youbei Lou Health Analytics, Research & Reporting, Walgreen Co., Deerfield, IL, USA Objectives: This study evaluates a nationwide pharmacy chain’s late-to-refill (LTR reminder program that entails local pharmacists placing reminder calls to Medicare Part D patients. Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled study among 735,218 patients who exhibited nonadherent behavior by not refilling a maintenance medication 3 days from an expected refill date. Patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group who received LTR reminder calls or to a control group. We used Walgreens pharmaceutical claims data from 2015 to estimate the impact of LTR calls on short-term and annual adherence. Results: The initial refill rate within the first 14 days of the expected refill date significantly increased in the intervention group by 22.8% (6.09 percentage points compared to the control group (P<0.001. The proportion of days covered (PDC in the intervention group increased significantly by 1.5% (0.856 percentage points relative to the control group (P<0.001 over 365 days. Patients in the intervention group were significantly more adherent (PDC ≥80% by 3% (0.97 percentage points compared to the control group (P<0.001. Over a 270-day follow-up period, persistence significantly increased by 2.15 days in the intervention group (P<0.001. Conclusion: Results from this study suggest that LTR reminder calls increased adherence for Medicare Part D patients who are late in refilling their medications and therefore have the potential to reduce their risk for hospitalization and health care costs. Additionally, the intervention increased the number of patients with PDC ≥80% by ~3%, positively impacting Medicare Part D plan quality rating. Keywords: reminder system, tailored intervention, Medicare Part D, adherence, persistence

CuO reduction induced formation of CuO/Cu2O hybrid oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Lu; Yin, Qiyue; Wang, Yiqian; Zhou, Guangwen

2013-12-01

Reduction of CuO nanowires results in the formation of a unique hierarchical hybrid nanostructure, in which the parent oxide phase (CuO) works as the skeleton while the lower oxide (Cu2O) resulting from the reduction reaction forms as partially embedded nanoparticles that decorate the skeleton of the parent oxide. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy observations of the reduction process of CuO nanowires, we demonstrate that the formation of such a hierarchical hybrid oxide structure is induced by topotactic nucleation and growth of Cu2O islands on the parent CuO nanowires.

Investigating nanohybrid material based on 3D CNTs@Cu nanoparticle composite and imprinted polymer for highly selective detection of chloramphenicol.

Science.gov (United States)

Munawar, Anam; Tahir, Muhammad Ali; Shaheen, Ayesha; Lieberzeit, Peter A; Khan, Waheed S; Bajwa, Sadia Z

2018-01-15

Nanotechnology holds great promise for the fabrication of versatile materials that can be used as sensor platforms for the highly selective detection of analytes. In this research article we report a new nanohybrid material, where 3D imprinted nanostructures are constructed. First, copper nanoparticles are deposited on carbon nanotubes and then a hybrid structure is formed by coating molecularly imprinted polymer on 3D CNTs@Cu NPs; and a layer by layer assembly is achieved. SEM and AFM revealed the presence of Cu NPs (100-500nm) anchored along the whole length of CNTs, topped with imprinted layer. This material was applied to fabricate an electrochemical sensor to monitor a model veterinary drug, chloramphenicol. The high electron transfer ability and conductivity of the prepared material produced sensitive response, whereas, molecular imprinting produces selectivity towards drug detection. The sensor responses were found concentration dependent and the detection limit was calculated to be 10μM (S/N=3). Finally, we showed how changing the polymer composition, the extent of cross linking, and sensor layer thickness greatly affects the number of binding sites for the recognition of drug. This work paves the way to build variants of 3D imprinted materials for the detection of other kinds of biomolecules and antibiotics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Augmenting short cheap talk scripts with a repeated opt-out reminder in choice experiment surveys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ladenburg, Jacob; Olsen, Søren Bøye

to choose the opt-out alternative if they find the experimentally designed alternatives too expensive. In an empirical Choice Experiment survey we find the Opt-Out Reminder to significantly reduce total WTP and to some extent also marginal WTP beyond the capability of the Cheap Talk applied without the Opt...

Morphology and chemical composition of Cu/Sn/Cu and Cu(5 at-%Ni)/Sn/Cu(5 at-%Ni) interconnections

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wierzbicka-Miernik, A.; Wojewoda-Budka, J.; Litynska-Dobrzynska, L.; Kodentsov, A.; Zieba, P.

2012-01-01

In the present paper, scanning and transmission electron microscopies as well as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy investigations were performed to describe the morphology and chemical composition of the intermetallic phases growing in Cu/Sn/Cu and Cu(Ni)/Sn/Cu(Ni) interconnections during the

Synthesis of Fe–Cu/TiO2 nanostructure and its use in construction of a sensitive and selective sensor for metformin determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gholivand, Mohammad Bagher; Shamsipur, Mojtaba; Paimard, Giti; Feyzi, Mostafa; Jafari, Fataneh

2014-01-01

A carbon paste electrode modified with Fe-Cu/TiO 2 was prepared and used for low level determination of metformin (MET) using square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV). The Fe-Cu/TiO 2 nanoparticle was synthesized by a modified sol–gel method. The surface structure and composition of nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD) and N 2 physisorption. Also, electrochemical properties of the prepared nanocomposite modified electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Under optimized conditions, the modified electrode exhibited a linear response over the concentration range of 15 nM to 75 μM MET, with a detection limit of 3 nM. The proposed sensor exhibited a high sensitivity, good selectivity and was successfully applied for MET determination in real samples such as human urine and pharmaceutical formulations. - Highlights: • A carbon paste modified electrode for determination of MET was developed. • The synthesized Fe-Cu/TiO 2 nanocomposite was used as a modifier. • The sensor was successfully applied for MET determination in real samples. • Square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric method was used for MET determination

High strength-high conductivity Cu-Fe composites produced by powder compaction/mechanical reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Verhoeven, J.D.; Spitzig, W.A.; Gibson, E.D.; Anderson, I.E.

1991-08-27

A particulate mixture of Cu and Fe is compacted and mechanically reduced to form an ''in-situ'' Cu-Fe composite having high strength and high conductivity. Compaction and mechanical reduction of the particulate mixture are carried out at a temperature and time at temperature selected to avoid dissolution of Fe into the Cu matrix particulates to a harmful extent that substantially degrades the conductivity of the Cu-Fe composite. 5 figures.

High strength-high conductivity Cu--Fe composites produced by powder compaction/mechanical reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Verhoeven, John D.; Spitzig, William A.; Gibson, Edwin D.; Anderson, Iver E.

1991-08-27

A particulate mixture of Cu and Fe is compacted and mechanically reduced to form an "in-situ" Cu-Fe composite having high strength and high conductivity. Compaction and mechanical reduction of the particulate mixture are carried out at a temperature and time at temperature selected to avoid dissolution of Fe into the Cu matrix particulates to a harmful extent that substantially degrades the conductivity of the Cu-Fe composite.

Vicinal Diboronates in High Enantiomeric Purity through Tandem Site-Selective NHC–Cu-Catalyzed Boron-Copper Additions to Terminal Alkynes

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yunmi; Jang, Hwanjong; Hoveyda, Amir H.

2009-01-01

A Cu-catalyzed protocol for conversion of terminal alkynes to enantiomerically enriched diboronates is reported. In a single vessel, a site-selective hydroboration of an alkyne leads to the corresponding terminal vinylboronate, which undergoes a second site-selective and enantioselective hydroboration. Reactions proceed in the presence of two equivalents of commercially available bis(pinacolato)diboron [B2(pin)2] and 5–7.5 mol % of a chiral bidentate imidazolinium salt, affording diboronates in 60–93% yield and up to 97.5:2.5 enantiomeric ratio (er). The enantiomerically enriched products can be functionalized to afford an assortment of versatile organic molecules. Enynes are converted to unsaturated diboronates with high chemo- (>98% reaction of alkyne; <2% at alkene) and enantioselectivity (e.g., 94.5:5.5 er). PMID:19968273

Complexometric determination, Part II: Complexometric determination of Cu2+-ions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajković Miloš B.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available A copper-selective electrode of the coated wire type based on sulphidized copper wire was applied successfully for determining Cu(II ions by complexometric titration with the disodium salt of EDTA (complexon III. By the formation of internal complex compounds with the Cu(II ion, the copper concentration in the solution decreases, and all this is followed by a change of potential of the indicator system Cu-DWISE (or Cu-EDWISE/SCE. At the terminal point of titration, when all the Cu(II ions are already utilized for the formation of the complex with EDTA, there occurs a steep rise of potential, thus enabling us, through the first or second derivative to note the quantity of copper that is present in the solution. Copper-selective electrode showed a responsivity towards titration with EDTA as a complexing agent, with the absence of "fatigue" due to a great number of repeated measurings. Errors occurring during quantitative measurements were more a characteristic of the overall procedure which involve, because of the impossibility of the complete absence of subjectivity, a constant error, and the reproducibility of the results confirmed this fact. The disodium salt of EDTA appeared as a very efficient titrant in all titrations and with various concentrations ot Cu(II ions in the solution, with somewhat weaker response at lower concentrations in the solution.

Selective coupling reaction between 2,6-diiodoanisoles and terminal alkynes catalyzed by Pd(PPh32Cl2 and CuI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allan F. C. Rossini

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The cross-coupling reaction between aryl halides and terminal alkynes, catalyzed by palladium complexes and copper (I salts, consists in an efficient synthetic tool for the formation of C-C bonds, resulting in disubstituted acetylenic compounds. Accordingly, in this work we present our preliminary results involving the selective cross-coupling reaction between 2,6-diiodoanisoles and terminal alkynes, catalyzed by Pd(PPh32Cl2 and CuI, in the formation of 2-iodo-alkynylanisoles (scheme 1.

Incentive Matters!--The Benefit of Reminding Students about Their Academic Standing in Introductory Economics Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qihui; Okediji, Tade O.

2014-01-01

In this article, the authors illustrate how incentives can improve student performance in introductory economics courses. They implemented a policy experiment in a large introductory economics class in which they reminded students who scored below an announced cutoff score on the midterm exam about the risk of failing the course. The authors…

IR and TPD studies of the interaction of alkenes with Cu + sites in CuNaY and CuNaX zeolites of various Cu content. The heterogeneity of Cu + sites

Science.gov (United States)

Datka, J.; Kukulska-Zajaç, E.; Kozyra, P.

2006-08-01

Cu + ions in zeolites activate organic molecules containing π electrons by π back donation, which results in a distinct weakening of multiple bonds. In this study, we followed the activation of alkenes (ethene and propene) by Cu + ions in CuY and CuX zeolites of various Cu content. We also studied the strength of bonding of alkenes to Cu + ions. IR studies have shown that there are two kinds of Cu + sites of various electron donor properties. We suppose that they could be attributed to the presence of Cu + ions of various number of oxygen atoms surrounding the cation. IR studies have shown that Cu ions introduced into Y and X zeolites in the first-order (at low Cu content) form Cu + ions of stronger electron donor properties (i.e. activate alkenes to larger extend) than Cu ions introduced in the next order (at higher Cu content). IR and TPD studies of alkenes desorption evidenced that Cu + ions of stronger electron donor properties bond alkenes stronger than less electron donor ones. It suggests that π back donation has more important contribution to the strength of bonding alkenes to cation than π donation.

Reminders of Social Connection Can Attenuate Anthropomorphism.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartz, Jennifer A; Tchalova, Kristina; Fenerci, Can

2016-12-01

It is a fundamental human need to secure and sustain a sense of social belonging. Previous research has shown that individuals who are lonely are more likely than people who are not lonely to attribute humanlike traits (e.g., free will) to nonhuman agents (e.g., an alarm clock that makes people get up by moving away from the sleeper), presumably in an attempt to fulfill unmet needs for belongingness. We directly replicated the association between loneliness and anthropomorphism in a larger sample ( N = 178); furthermore, we showed that reminding people of a close, supportive relationship reduces their tendency to anthropomorphize. This finding provides support for the idea that the need for belonging has causal effects on anthropomorphism. Last, we showed that attachment anxiety-characterized by intense desire for and preoccupation with closeness, fear of abandonment, and hypervigilance to social cues-was a stronger predictor of anthropomorphism than loneliness was. This finding helps clarify the mechanisms underlying anthropomorphism and supports the idea that anthropomorphism is a motivated process reflecting the active search for potential sources of connection.

Text messaging reminders for influenza vaccine in primary care: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial (TXT4FLUJAB).

Science.gov (United States)

Herrett, Emily; van Staa, Tjeerd; Free, Caroline; Smeeth, Liam

2014-05-02

The UK government recommends that at least 75% of people aged under 64 with certain conditions receive an annual influenza vaccination. Primary care practices often fall short of this target and strategies to increase vaccine uptake are required. Text messaging reminders are already used in 30% of practices to remind patients about vaccination, but there has been no trial addressing their effectiveness in increasing influenza vaccine uptake in the UK. The aims of the study are (1) to develop the methodology for conducting cluster randomised trials of text messaging interventions utilising routine electronic health records and (2) to assess the effectiveness of using a text messaging influenza vaccine reminder in achieving an increase in influenza vaccine uptake in patients aged 18-64 with chronic conditions, compared with standard care. This cluster randomised trial will recruit general practices across three settings in English primary care (Clinical Practice Research Datalink, ResearchOne and London iPLATO text messaging software users) and randomise them to either standard care or a text messaging campaign to eligible patients. Flu vaccine uptake will be ascertained using routinely collected, anonymised electronic patient records. This protocol outlines the proposed study design and analysis methods. This study will determine the effectiveness of text messaging vaccine reminders in primary care in increasing influenza vaccine uptake, and will strengthen the methodology for using electronic health records in cluster randomised trials of text messaging interventions. This trial was approved by the Surrey Borders Ethics Committee (13/LO/0872). The trial results will be disseminated at national conferences and published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The results will also be distributed to the Primary Care Research Network and to all participating general practices. This study is registered at controlled-trials.com ISRCTN48840025, July 2013.

Lifestyle intervention using an internet-based curriculum with cell phone reminders for obese Chinese teens: a randomized controlled study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anisha A Abraham

Full Text Available Obesity is an increasing public health problem affecting young people. The causes of obesity are multi-factorial among Chinese youth including lack of physical activity and poor eating habits. The use of an internet curriculum and cell phone reminders and texting may be an innovative means of increasing follow up and compliance with obese teens. The objectives of this study were to determine the feasibility of using an adapted internet curriculum and existing nutritional program along with cell phone follow up for obese Chinese teens.This was a randomized controlled study involving obese teens receiving care at a paediatric obesity clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Hong Kong. Forty-eight subjects aged 12 to 18 years were randomized into three groups. The control group received usual care visits with a physician in the obesity clinic every three months. The first intervention (IT group received usual care visits every three months plus a 12-week internet-based curriculum with cell phone calls/texts reminders. The second intervention group received usual care visits every three months plus four nutritional counselling sessions.The use of the internet-based curriculum was shown to be feasible as evidenced by the high recruitment rate, internet log-in rate, compliance with completing the curriculum and responses to phone reminders. No significant differences in weight were found between IT, sLMP and control groups.An internet-based curriculum with cell phone reminders as a supplement to usual care of obesity is feasible. Further study is required to determine whether an internet plus text intervention can be both an effective and a cost-effective adjunct to changing weight in obese youth.Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-12002624.

A chemosensor showing discriminating fluorescent response for highly selective and nanomolar detection of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ and its application in molecular logic gate.

Science.gov (United States)

Fegade, Umesh A; Sahoo, Suban K; Singh, Amanpreet; Singh, Narinder; Attarde, Sanjay B; Kuwar, Anil S

2015-05-04

A fluorescent based receptor (4Z)-4-(4-diethylamino)-2-hydroxybenzylidene amino)-1,2dihydro-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenylpyrazol-3-one (receptor 3) was developed for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) in semi-aqueous system. The fluorescence of receptor 3 was enhanced and quenched, respectively, with the addition of Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) ions over other surveyed cations. The receptor formed host-guest complexes in 1:1 stoichiometry with the detection limit of 5 nM and 15 nM for Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) ions, respectively. Further, we have effectively utilized the two metal ions (Cu(2+) and Zn(2+)) as chemical inputs for the manufacture of INHIBIT type logic gate at molecular level using the fluorescence responses of receptor 3 at 450 nm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Porous HKUST-1 derived CuO/Cu2O shell wrapped Cu(OH)2 derived CuO/Cu2O core nanowire arrays for electrochemical nonenzymatic glucose sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Cuiping; Cui, Jiewu; Wang, Yan; Zheng, Hongmei; Zhang, Jianfang; Shu, Xia; Liu, Jiaqin; Zhang, Yong; Wu, Yucheng

2018-05-01

Self-supported CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) are successfully fabricated by a simple and efficient method in this paper. Anodized Cu(OH)2 NWAs could in-situ convert to HKUST-1 at room temperature easily. Cu(OH)2 NWAs cores and HKUST-1 shells transform into CuO/Cu2O simultaneously after calcinations and form CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell NWAs. This smart configuration of the core-shell structure not only avoids the agglomeration of the traditional MOF-derived materials in particle-shape, but also facilitates the ion diffusion and increases the active sites. This novel structure is employed as substrate to construct nonenzymatic glucose sensors. The results indicate that glucose sensor based on CuO/Cu2O@CuO/Cu2O core-shell NWAs presents ultrahigh sensitivity (10,090 μA mM-1 cm-2), low detection limit (0.48 μM) and wide linear range (0.99-1,330 μM). In addition, it also shows excellent anti-interference ability toward uric acid, ascorbic acid and L-Cysteine co-existing with glucose, good reproducibility and superior ability of real sample analysis.

Ultrasensitive Detection of Cu2+ Using a Microcantilever Sensor Modified with L-Cysteine Self-Assembled Monolayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xiaohe; Zhang, Na; Brown, Gilbert M; Thundat, Thomas G; Ji, Hai-Feng

2017-10-01

A microcantilever was modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of L-cysteine for the sensitively and selectively response to Cu(II) ions in aqueous solution. The microcantilever undergoes bending due to sorption of Cu(II) ions. The interaction of Cu(II) ions with the L-cysteine on the cantilever is diffusion controlled and does not follow a simple Langmuir adsorption model. A concentration of 10 -10  M Cu(II) was detected in a fluid cell using this technology. Other cations, such as Ni 2+ , Zn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Cd 2+ , Ca 2+ , K + , and Na + , did not respond with a significant deflection, indicating that this L-cysteine-modified cantilever responded selectively and sensitively to Cu(II).

Comparative study of Cu-Zr and Cu-Ru alloy films for barrier-free Cu metallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Ying; Cao Fei; Zhang Milin; Liu Yuntao

2011-01-01

The properties of Cu-Zr and Cu-Ru alloy films were comparatively studied to evaluate their potential use as alloying elements. Cu alloy films were deposited on SiO 2 /Si substrates by magnetron sputtering. Samples were subsequently annealed and analyzed by four-point probe measurement, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction data suggest that Cu film has preferential (111) crystal orientation and no extra peak corresponding to any compound of Cu, Zr, Ru, and Si. According to transmission electron microscopy results, Cu grains grow in size for both systems but the grain sizes of the Cu alloy films are smaller than that of pure Cu films. These results indicate that Cu-Zr film is suitable for advanced barrier-free metallization in terms of interfacial stability and lower resistivity.

Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO nanoparticles: Novel synthesis by exploding wire technique and extensive characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahai, Anshuman [Department of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector-62, Noida 201307 (India); Goswami, Navendu, E-mail: navendugoswami@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector-62, Noida 201307 (India); Kaushik, S.D. [UGC-DAE-Consortium for Scientific Research Mumbai Centre, R5 Shed, BARC, Mumbai 400085 (India); Tripathi, Shilpa [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Indore, M.P. (India)

2016-12-30

Highlights: The salient features of this research article are following: • Mixed phase synthesis of Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO nanoparticles prepared by Exploding Wire Technique (EWT). • Predominant Cu/Cu{sub 2}O phases along with minor CuO phase revealed through XRD, TEM, Raman, FTIR, UV–Visible and PL analyses. • XPS analysis provided direct evidences of Cu{sup 2+} and Cu{sup +} along with O deficiency for prepared nanoparticles. • Room temperature weak ferromagnetic behaviour was demonstrated for Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO nanoparticles. - Abstract: In this article, we explore potential of Exploding Wire Technique (EWT) to synthesize the copper nanoparticles using the copper metal in a plate and wire geometry. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of prepared material indicates presence of mixed phases of copper (Cu) and copper oxide (Cu{sub 2}O). Agglomerates of copper and copper oxide comprised of ∼20 nm average size nanoparticles observed through high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Micro-Raman (μR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies of prepared nanoparticles reveal existence of additional minority CuO phase, not determined earlier through XRD and TEM analysis. μR investigations vividly reveal cubic Cu{sub 2}O and monoclinic CuO phases based on the difference of space group symmetries. In good agreement with μRaman analysis, FTIR stretching modes corresponding to Cu{sub 2}-O and Cu-O were also distinguished. Investigations of μR and FTIR vibrational modes are in accordance and affirm concurrence of CuO phases besides predominant Cu and Cu{sub 2}O phase. Quantum confinement effects along with increase of band gaps for direct and indirect optical transitions of Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO nanoparticles are reflected through UV–vis (UV–vis) spectroscopy. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy spots the electronic levels of each phase and optical transitions processes

Effect of a reminder video using a mobile phone on the retention of CPR and AED skills in lay responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Ji Yun; Cho, Gyu Chong; Shon, You Dong; Park, Seung Min; Kang, Ku Hyun

2011-12-01

Skills related to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use by lay responders decay rapidly after training, and efforts are required to maintain competence among trainees. We examined whether repeated viewing of a reminder video on a mobile phone would be an effective means of maintaining CPR and AED skills in lay responders. In a single-blind case-control study, 75 male students received training in CPR and AED use. They were allocated either to the control or to the video-reminded group, who received a memory card containing a video clip about CPR and AED use for their mobile phone, which they were repeatedly encouraged to watch by SMS text message. CPR and AED skills were assessed in scenario format by examiners immediately and 3 months after initial training. Three months after initial training, the video-reminded group showed more accurate airway opening (PCPR after defibrillation (PCPR confidence scores and increased willingness to perform bystander CPR in cardiac arrest than the controls at 3 months (PCPR and AED skills in lay responders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation on Cu(1 1 1), Cu@Cu(1 1 1), Rh@Cu(1 1 1) and RhCu(1 1 1) surfaces: A comparison studies of catalytic activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Riguang; Duan, Tian [Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology of Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi (China); Ling, Lixia [Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology of Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi (China); Research Institute of Special Chemicals, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi (China); Wang, Baojun, E-mail: wangbaojun@tyut.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Coal Science and Technology of Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi (China)

2015-06-30

Highlights: • Adsorbed Rh atom on Cu catalyst exhibits better catalytic activity for CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation. • The adsorbed Rh atom is the reaction active center for CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation. • The morphology of Cu substrate has negligible effect on CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation. - Abstract: In the CVD growth of graphene, the reaction barriers of the dehydrogenation for hydrocarbon molecules directly decide the graphene CVD growth temperature. In this study, density functional theory method has been employed to comparatively probe into CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation on four types of Cu(1 1 1) surface, including the flat Cu(1 1 1) surface (labeled as Cu(1 1 1)) and the Cu(1 1 1) surface with one surface Cu atom substituted by one Rh atom (labeled as RhCu(1 1 1)), as well as the Cu(1 1 1) surface with one Cu or Rh adatom (labeled as Cu@Cu(1 1 1) and Rh@Cu(1 1 1), respectively). Our results show that the highest barrier of the whole CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation process is remarkably reduced from 448.7 and 418.4 kJ mol{sup −1} on the flat Cu(1 1 1) and Cu@Cu(1 1 1) surfaces to 258.9 kJ mol{sup −1} on RhCu(1 1 1) surface, and to 180.0 kJ mol{sup −1} on Rh@Cu(1 1 1) surface, indicating that the adsorbed or substituted Rh atom on Cu catalyst can exhibit better catalytic activity for CH{sub 4} complete dehydrogenation; meanwhile, since the differences for the highest barrier between Cu@Cu(1 1 1) and Cu(1 1 1) surfaces are smaller, the catalytic behaviors of Cu@Cu(1 1 1) surface are very close to the flat Cu(1 1 1) surface, suggesting that the morphology of Cu substrate does not obviously affect the dehydrogenation of CH{sub 4}, which accords with the reported experimental observations. As a result, the adsorbed or substituted Rh atom on Cu catalyst exhibit a better catalytic activity for CH{sub 4} dehydrogenation compared to the pure Cu catalyst, especially on Rh-adsorbed Cu catalyst, we can conclude that the potential of synthesizing high-quality graphene with the

Early Model of Traffic Sign Reminder Based on Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Budi Rahmani

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Recognizing the traffic signs installed on the streets is one of the requirements of driving on the road. Laxity in driving may result in traffic accident. This paper describes a real-time reminder model, by utilizing a camera that can be installed in a car to capture image of traffic signs, and is processed and later to inform the driver. The extracting feature harnessing the morphological elements (strel is used in this paper. Artificial Neural Networks is used to train the system and to produce a final decision. The result shows that the accuracy in detecting and recognizing the ten types of traffic signs in real-time is 80%.

Evaluation of SMS reminder messages for altering treatment adherence and health seeking perceptions among malaria care-seekers in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jenny X; Modrek, Sepideh

2016-12-01

In Nigeria, access to malaria diagnostics may be expanded if drug retailers were allowed to administer malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). A 2012 pilot intervention showed that short message service (SMS) reminder messages could boost treatment adherence to RDT results by 10-14% points. This study aimed to replicate the SMS intervention in a different population, and additionally test the effect of an expanded message about anticipated RDT access policy change on customers' acceptability for drug retailers' administration of RDTs. One day after being tested with an RDT, participants who purchased malaria treatment from drug shops were randomized to receive (1) a basic SMS reminder repeating the RDT result and appropriate treatment actions, (2) an expanded SMS reminder additionally saying that the 'government might allow pharmacists/chemists to do RDTs' or (3) no SMS reminders (i.e. control). Using regression analysis, we estimate intent-to-treat (ITT) and treatment effects on the treated for 686 study participants. Results corroborate previous findings that a basic SMS reminder increased treatment adherence [odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% CI 0.96-2.44] and decreased use of unnecessary anti-malarials for RDT-negative adults [OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.39-1.00]. The expanded SMS also increased adherence for adults [OR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.97-2.07], but the effects for sick children differed-the basic SMS did not have any measurable impact on treatment adherence [OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.24-3.09] or use of unnecessary anti-malarials [OR = 1.27, 95% CI 0.32-1.93], and the expanded SMS actually led to poorer treatment adherence [OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.66] and increased use of unnecessary anti-malarials [OR = 4.67, 95% CI 1.76-12.43]. Further, the targeted but neutral message in the expanded SMS lowered acceptance for drug retailers' administration of RDTs [OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.10-2.93], counter to what we hypothesized. Future SMS interventions should

Selective Electrocatalytic Activity of Ligand Stabilized Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kauffman, Douglas R; Ohodnicki, Paul R; Kail, Brian W; Matranga, Christopher

2011-01-01

Ligand stabilization can influence the surface chemistry of Cu oxide nanoparticles (NPs) and provide unique product distributions for electrocatalytic methanol (MeOH) oxidation and CO{sub 2} reduction reactions. Oleic acid (OA) stabilized Cu{sub 2}O and CuO NPs promote the MeOH oxidation reaction with 88% and 99.97% selective HCOH formation, respectively. Alternatively, CO{sub 2} is the only reaction product detected for bulk Cu oxides and Cu oxide NPs with no ligands or weakly interacting ligands. We also demonstrate that OA stabilized Cu oxide NPs can reduce CO{sub 2} into CO with a {approx}1.7-fold increase in CO/H{sub 2} production ratios compared to bulk Cu oxides. The OA stabilized Cu oxide NPs also show 7.6 and 9.1-fold increases in CO/H{sub 2} production ratios compared to weakly stabilized and non-stabilized Cu oxide NPs, respectively. Our data illustrates that the presence and type of surface ligand can substantially influence the catalytic product selectivity of Cu oxide NPs.

Archetypal sandwich-structured CuO for high performance non-enzymatic sensing of glucose

Science.gov (United States)

Meher, Sumanta Kumar; Rao, G. Ranga

2013-02-01

In the quest to enhance the selectivity and sensitivity of novel structured metal oxides for electrochemical non-enzymatic sensing of glucose, we report here a green synthesis of unique sandwich-structured CuO on a large scale under microwave mediated homogeneous precipitation conditions. The physicochemical studies carried out by XRD and BET methods show that the monoclinic CuO formed via thermal decomposition of Cu2(OH)2CO3 possesses monomodal channel-type pores with largely improved surface area (~43 m2 g-1) and pore volume (0.163 cm3 g-1). The fascinating surface morphology and pore structure of CuO is formulated due to homogeneous crystallization and microwave induced self assembly during synthesis. The cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry studies show diffusion controlled glucose oxidation at ~0.6 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) with extremely high sensitivity of 5342.8 μA mM-1 cm-2 and respective detection limit and response time of ~1 μM and ~0.7 s, under a wide dynamic concentration range of glucose. The chronoamperometry measurements demonstrate that the sensitivity of CuO to glucose is unaffected by the absence of dissolved oxygen and presence of poisoning chloride ions in the reaction medium, which essentially implies high poison resistance activity of the sandwich-structured CuO. The sandwich-structured CuO also shows insignificant interference/significant selectivity to glucose, even in the presence of high concentrations of other sugars as well as reducing species. In addition, the sandwich-structured CuO shows excellent reproducibility (relative standard deviation of ~2.4% over ten identically fabricated electrodes) and outstanding long term stability (only ~1.3% loss in sensitivity over a period of one month) during non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose. The unique microstructure and suitable channel-type pore architecture provide structural stability and maximum accessible electroactive surface for unimpeded mobility of glucose as well as the

Crystallization of Zr₂Pd_xCu_1-x and Zr₂Ni_xCu_1-x Metallic Glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Min [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2008-01-01

One interesting aspect of rretallic glasses is the numerous instances of the deviation of the phase selection from the amorphous state to thermodynamically stable phases during the crystallization process. Their devitrification pathways allow us to study the relationship between the original amorphous structure and their crystalline counter parts. Among the various factors of phase selections, size and electronic effects have been most extensively studied. Elucidating the phase selection process of a glassy alloy will be helpful to fill in the puzzle of the changes from disordered to ordered structures. In this thesis, Two model Zr₂Pd_xCu_1-x and Zr₂Ni_xCu_1-x (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1) glassy systems were investigated since: (1) All of the samples can be made into a homogenous metallic glass; (2) The atomic radii differ from Pd to Cu is by 11%, while Ni has nearly the identical atomic size compare to Cu. Moreover, Pd and Ni differ by only one valence electron from Cu. Thus, these systems are ideal to test the idea of the effects of electronic structure and size factors; (3) The small number of components in these pseudo binary systems readily lend themselves to theoretical modeling. Using high temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD) and thermal analysis, topological, size, electronic, bond and chemical distribution factors on crystallization selections in Zr₂Pd_xCu_1-x and Zr₂Ni_xCu_1-x metallic glass have been explored. All Zr₂Pd_xCu_1-x compositions share the same Cu11b phase with different pathways of meta-stable, icosahedral quasicrystalline phase (i-phase), and C16 phase formations. The quasicrystal phase formation is topologically related to the increasing icosahedral short range order (SRO) with Pd content in Zr₂Pd_xCu_1-x system. Meta-stable C16 phase is competitive with

REMINDER - FRENCH CARDS - NEW PROCEDURE FOR INITIAL APPLICATION

CERN Multimedia

Human Resources Division

2002-01-01

The Human Resources Division would like to remind members of personnel that they are obliged to submit an application form for a French card as soon as they have a permanent address in either Switzerland or in France and they are actually living there. Following the rationalization of our administrative procedures, as of October 1st, 2002, the initial application procedure for a French card will now be as follows: The member of personnel should complete an application form. If necessary, an application form must also be completed for family members. These forms must then be transferred via e-mail to the appropriate Divisional Administrative Officer (DAO) who will forward them to the Cards Service. In parallel, the member of personnel should submit the necessary supporting documents to the Cards Service. Users are requested to apply for a French card through the Users' Office. The application form (Word format only), the procedural details, the necessary supporting documents as well as the conditions of issue ...

Fast responsive fluorescence turn-on sensor for Cu2+ and its application in live cell imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jiaoliang; Li Hao; Long Liping; Xiao Guqing; Xie Dan

2012-01-01

A new effective fluorescent sensor based on rhodamine was synthesized, which was induced by Cu 2+ in aqueous media to produce turn-on fluorescence. The new sensor 1 exhibited good selectivity for Cu 2+ over other heavy and transition metal (HTM) ions in H 2 O/CH 3 CN(7:3, v/v). Upon addition of Cu 2+ , a remarkable color change from colorless to pink was easily observed by the naked eye, and the dramatic fluorescence turn-on was corroborated. Furthermore, kinetic assay indicates that sensor 1 could be used for real-time tracking of Cu 2+ in cells and organisms. In addition, the turn-on fluorescent change upon the addition of Cu 2+ was also applied in bioimaging. - Highlights: ► A new effective fluorescent sensor based on rhodamine was developed to detect Cu 2+ . ► The sensor exhibited fast response, good selectivity at physiological pH condition. ► The sensor was an effective intracellular Cu 2+ ion imaging agent.

The effect of Cu/Zn molar ratio on CO{sub 2} hydrogenation over Cu/ZnO/ZrO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaharun, Salina, E-mail: salinashaharun@gmail.com, E-mail: maizats@petronas.com.my; Shaharun, Maizatul S., E-mail: salinashaharun@gmail.com, E-mail: maizats@petronas.com.my; Taha, Mohd F., E-mail: faisalt@petronas.com.my [Department of Fundamental and Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia); Mohamad, Dasmawati, E-mail: dasmawati@kck.usm.my [School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan (Malaysia)

2014-10-24

Catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) to methanol is an attractive way to recycle and utilize CO{sub 2}. A series of Cu/ZnO/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2} catalysts (CZAZ) containing different molar ratios of Cu/Zn were prepared by the co-precipitation method and investigated in a stirred slurry autoclave system. The catalysts were characterized by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive analysis (FESEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption. Higher surface area, SA{sub BET} values (42.6–59.9 m{sup 2}/g) are recorded at low (1) and high (5) Cu/Zn ratios with the minimum value of 35.71 m{sup 2}/g found for a Cu/Zn of 3. The reducibility of the metal oxides formed after calcination of catalyst samples was also affected due to change in metal-support interaction. At a low reaction temperature of 443 K, total gas pressure of 3.0 MPa and 0.1 g/mL of the CZAZ catalyst, the selectivity to methanol decreased as the Cu/Zn molar ratio increased, and the maximum selectivity of 67.73 was achieved at Cu/Zn molar ratio of 1. With a reaction time of 3h, the best performing catalyst was CZAZ75 with Cu/Zn molar ratio of 5 giving methanol yield of 79.30%.

Cu/Cu2O/CuO nanoparticles: Novel synthesis by exploding wire technique and extensive characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Sahai, Anshuman; Goswami, Navendu; Kaushik, S. D.; Tripathi, Shilpa

2016-12-01

In this article, we explore potential of Exploding Wire Technique (EWT) to synthesize the copper nanoparticles using the copper metal in a plate and wire geometry. Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of prepared material indicates presence of mixed phases of copper (Cu) and copper oxide (Cu2O). Agglomerates of copper and copper oxide comprised of ∼20 nm average size nanoparticles observed through high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Micro-Raman (μR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies of prepared nanoparticles reveal existence of additional minority CuO phase, not determined earlier through XRD and TEM analysis. μR investigations vividly reveal cubic Cu2O and monoclinic CuO phases based on the difference of space group symmetries. In good agreement with μRaman analysis, FTIR stretching modes corresponding to Cu2-O and Cu-O were also distinguished. Investigations of μR and FTIR vibrational modes are in accordance and affirm concurrence of CuO phases besides predominant Cu and Cu2O phase. Quantum confinement effects along with increase of band gaps for direct and indirect optical transitions of Cu/Cu2O/CuO nanoparticles are reflected through UV-vis (UV-vis) spectroscopy. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy spots the electronic levels of each phase and optical transitions processes occurring therein. Iterative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) fitting of core level spectra of Cu (2p3/2) and O (1s), divulges presence of Cu2+ and Cu+ in the lattice with an interesting evidence of O deficiency in the lattice structure and surface adsorption. Magnetic analysis illustrates that the prepared nanomaterial demonstrates ferromagnetic behaviour at room temperature.

Coordination behavior of tetraaza [N4] ligand towards Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cu(I) and Pd(II) complexes: Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and anticancer activity

Science.gov (United States)

El-Boraey, Hanaa A.

2012-11-01

Novel eight Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cu(I) and Pd(II) complexes with [N4] ligand (L) i.e. 2-amino-N-{2-[(2-aminobenzoyl)amino]ethyl}benzamide have been synthesized and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, spectral, thermal (TG/DTG), magnetic, and molar conductivity measurements. On the basis of IR, mass, electronic and EPR spectral studies an octahedral geometry has been proposed for Co(II), Ni(II) complexes and Cu(II) chloride complex, square-pyramidal for Cu(I) bromide complex. For Cu(II) nitrate complex (6), Pd(II) complex (8) square planar geometry was proposed. The EPR data of Cu(II) complexes in powdered form indicate dx2-y2 ground state of Cu(II) ion. The antitumor activity of the synthesized ligand and some selected metal complexes has been studied. The palladium(II) complex (8) was found to display cytotoxicity (IC50 = 25.6 and 41 μM) against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and human hepatocarcinoma HEPG2 cell line.

Sensors based on mesoporous SnO{sub 2}-CuWO{sub 4} with high selective sensitivity to H{sub 2}S at low operating temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stanoiu, Adelina; Simion, Cristian E. [National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, P.O. Box MG-7, 077125 Bucharest, Măgurele (Romania); Calderon-Moreno, Jose Maria; Osiceanu, Petre [“Ilie Murgulescu” Institute of Physical Chemistry, Romanian Academy, Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Laboratory, Spl. Independentei 202, 060021, Bucharest (Romania); Florea, Mihaela [University of Bucharest, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Catalysis, B-dul Regina Elisabeta 4-12, Bucharest (Romania); National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, P.O. Box MG-7, 077125 Bucharest, Măgurele (Romania); Teodorescu, Valentin S. [National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, P.O. Box MG-7, 077125 Bucharest, Măgurele (Romania); Somacescu, Simona, E-mail: somacescu.simona@gmail.com [“Ilie Murgulescu” Institute of Physical Chemistry, Romanian Academy, Surface Chemistry and Catalysis Laboratory, Spl. Independentei 202, 060021, Bucharest (Romania)

2017-06-05

Highlights: • Mesoporous SnO{sub 2}-CuWO{sub 4} obtained by an inexpensive synthesis route. • Powders characterization performed by a variety of complementary techniques. • SnO{sub 2}-CuWO{sub 4} layers with high selective sensitivity to H{sub 2}S. • Low operating temperature and relative humidity influences. - Abstract: Development of new sensitive materials by different synthesis routes in order to emphasize the sensing properties for hazardous H{sub 2}S detection is one of a nowadays challenge in the field of gas sensors. In this study we obtained mesoporous SnO{sub 2}-CuWO{sub 4} with selective sensitivity to H{sub 2}S by an inexpensive synthesis route with low environmental pollution level, using tripropylamine (TPA) as template and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as dispersant/stabilizer. In order to bring insights about the intrinsic properties, the powders were characterized by means of a variety of complementary techniques such as: X-Ray Diffraction, XRD; Transmission Electron Microscopy, TEM; High Resolution TEM, HRTEM; Raman Spectroscopy, RS; Porosity Analysis by N{sub 2} adsorption/desorption, BET; Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, XPS. The sensors were fabricated by powders deposition via screen-printing technique onto planar commercial Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates. The sensor signals towards H{sub 2}S exposure at low operating temperature (100 °C) reaches values from 10{sup 5} (for SnWCu600) to 10{sup 6} (for SnWCu800) over the full range of concentrations (5–30 ppm). The recovery processes were induced by a short temperature trigger of 500 °C. The selective sensitivity was underlined with respect to the H{sub 2}S, relative to other potential pollutants and relative humidity (10–70% RH).

Metallographic anlaysis and strength investigation of different Be-Cu joints in the temperature range RT-3500C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gervash, A.A.; Giniatouline, R.N.; Mazul, I.V.

1995-01-01

The goal of this work is to estimate the strength and structure of different Be-Cu joining techniques. Brazing, diffusion bonding and joint rolling methods were chosen as ITER Be-Cu joint method candidates. Selected for ITER application Be-Cu joints were produced as technological plates (30-50 mm x 50-100 mm x thickness). AR samples for farther investigations were cutted out from initial technological plates. To compare mechanical strength of selected Be-Cu joints tensile and shearing tests of chosen candidates were carried out in the temperature range RT - 350 degrees C. The metallographic analysis of Be-Cu crosssection was also done. Preliminary results of these tests as well as metallographic analysis data are presented. The industrial possibilities of producing required for ITER full scale Be-Cu joints are discussed

The effect of oxidant on resputtering of Bi from Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, J. M.; McDonald, D. B.; Reiten, M. T.; Olson, J.; Kampwirth, R. T.; Gray, K. E.

1991-09-01

The type and partial pressure of oxidant mixed with argon can affect the selective resputtering of Bi in composite-target, magnetron-sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films. Comparative studies using oxygen and ozone show that ozone is a more potent oxidant, as well as a more potent source of resputterers, than is oxygen. Severe resputtering from ozone is significantly reduced by a -40 V potential on the sample block. We suggest that oxygen causes resputtering by forming O2(+)p , which interacts with the target to produce energetic O(-). In contrast, ozone may form lower-energy O(-) by electron impact in the dark space. Negative oxygen ions from the target itself may be responsible for a background resputtering effect. Our results and those found for Y-Ba-Cu-O by others are comparable. Bi in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O behaves as Ba in Y-Ba-Cu-O, with regard to selective resputtering; furthermore, the response of Sr, Ca, and Cu to oxygen in sputtered Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O is similar to what is observed for Cu in Y-Ba-Cu-O.

Tailoring Graphene Morphology and Orientation on Cu(100), Cu(110), and Cu(111)

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobberger, Robert; Arnold, Michael

2013-03-01

Graphene CVD on Cu is phenomenologically complex, yielding diverse crystal morphologies, such as lobes, dendrites, stars, and hexagons, of various orientations. We present a comprehensive study of the evolution of these morphologies as a function of Cu surface orientation, pressure, H2:CH4, and nucleation density. Growth was studied on ultra-smooth, epitaxial Cu films inside Cu enclosures to minimize factors that normally complicate growth. With low H2:CH4, Mullins-Sekerka instabilities propagate to form dendrites, indicating transport limited growth. In LPCVD, the dendrites extend hundreds of microns in the 100, 111, and 110 directions on Cu(100), (110), and (111) and are perturbed by twin boundaries. In APCVD, multiple preferred dendrite orientations exist. With increasing H2:CH4, the dendritic nature of growth is suppressed. In LPCVD, square, rectangle, and hexagon crystals form on Cu(100), (110) and (111), reflecting the Cu crystallography. In APCVD, the morphology becomes hexagonal on each surface. If given ample time, every growth regime yields high-quality monolayers with D:G Raman ratio rationally tailor the graphene crystal morphology and orientation.

Is Performance in Task-Cuing Experiments Mediated by Task Set Selection or Associative Compound Retrieval?

Science.gov (United States)

Forrest, Charlotte L. D.; Monsell, Stephen; McLaren, Ian P. L.

2014-01-01

Task-cuing experiments are usually intended to explore control of task set. But when small stimulus sets are used, they plausibly afford learning of the response associated with a combination of cue and stimulus, without reference to tasks. In 3 experiments we presented the typical trials of a task-cuing experiment: a cue (colored shape) followed,…

Cu-62, Cu-64 and Cu-66 production with 4.2 MeV deuterons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avila, Mario; Morales, J.R.; Riquelme, H.O.

1996-01-01

Full text: The natural copper irradiation with deuterons produces the Cu-62, Cu-64 and Cu-66 radionuclides. Of two radioisotopes, those with deficiencies in neutrons, are applied in nuclear medicine diagnostic processes, mainly for the nuclear characteristic of the decay modes. The positron emitters, of short life mean Cu-62 (9.1 min, β + ) and Cu(12.7 h), are radionuclides applied in radio pharmacological preparation for brain, core, blood flux studies. The radiochemical process consists in the de solution of the irradiated metallic copper target, in acid medium. The result solution, can be neutralized with a base or a buffer at wished pH. Using a deuteron beam of 4,2 ± 0,1 MeV energy has been obtained total yields of 1,103 ± 0,011 μCl/μAh medium for 62 Cu and of 0,148 ± 0,015 μCl/μAh for 64 Cu

An azine based sensor for selective detection of Cu2 + ions and its copper complex for sensing of phosphate ions in physiological conditions and in living cells

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Karishma; Kumar, Sumit; Kumar, Vipan; Kaur, Jeevanjot; Arora, Saroj; Mahajan, Rakesh Kumar

2018-02-01

A simple and cost effective unsymmetrical azine based Schiff base, 5-diethylamino-2-[(2-hydroxy-benzylidene)hydrazonomethyl]-phenol (1) was synthesized which selectively detect Cu2 + ions in the presence of other competitive ions through ;naked eye; in physiological conditions (EtOH-buffer (1:1, v/v, HEPES 10 mM, pH = 7.4)). The presence of Cu2 + induce color change from light yellow green to yellow with the appearance of a new band at 450 nm in UV-Vis spectra of Schiff base 1. The fluorescence of Schiff base 1 (10 μM) was quenched completely in the presence of 2.7 equiv. of Cu2 + ions. Sub-micromolar limit of detection (LOD = 3.4 × 10- 7 M), efficient Stern-Volmer quenching constant (KSV = 1.8 × 105 L mol- 1) and strong binding constant (log Kb = 5.92) has been determined with the help of fluorescence titration profile. Further, 1 - Cu2 + complex was employed for the detection of phosphate ions (PO43 -, HPO42 - and H2PO4-) at micromolar concentrations in EtOH-buffer of pH 7.4 based on fluorescence recovery due to the binding of Cu2 + with phosphate ions. Solubility at low concentration in aqueous medium, longer excitation (406 nm) and emission wavelength (537 nm), and biocompatibility of Schiff base 1 formulates its use in live cell imaging.

The feasibility of using mobile-phone based SMS reminders and conditional cash transfers to improve timely immunization in rural Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakadha, Hotenzia; Chandir, Subhash; Were, Elijah Victor; Rubin, Alan; Obor, David; Levine, Orin S; Gibson, Dustin G; Odhiambo, Frank; Laserson, Kayla F; Feikin, Daniel R

2013-01-30

Demand-side strategies could contribute to achieving high and timely vaccine coverage in rural Africa, but require platforms to deliver either messages or conditional cash transfers (CCTs). We studied the feasibility of using short message services (SMS) reminders and mobile phone-based conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to reach parents in rural Western Kenya. In a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS), mothers with children aged 0-3 weeks old were approached to determine who had access to a mobile phone. SMS reminders were sent three days prior to and on the scheduled day of immunization for 1st (age 6 weeks) and 2nd doses (age 10 weeks) of DTP-HepB-Hib (Pentavalent) vaccine, using open-source Rapid SMS software. Approximately $2.00 USD was sent as cash using mPESA, a mobile money transfer platform (2/3 of mothers), or airtime (1/3 of mothers) via phone if the child was vaccinated within 4 weeks of the scheduled date. Follow-up surveys were done when children reached 14 weeks of age. We approached 77 mothers; 72 were enrolled into the study (26% owned a phone and 74% used someone else's). Of the 63 children with known vaccination status at 14 weeks of age, 57 (90%) received pentavalent1 and 54 (86%) received pentavalent2 within 4 weeks of their scheduled date. Of the 61 mothers with follow-up surveys administered at 14 weeks of age, 55 (90%) reported having received SMS reminders. Of the 54 women who reported having received SMS reminders and answered the CCT questions on the survey, 45 (83%) reported receiving their CCT. Most (89%) of mothers in the mPESA group obtained their cash within 3 days of being sent their credit via mobile phone. All mothers stated they preferred CCTs as cash via mobile phone rather than airtime. Of the 9 participants who did not vaccinate their children at the designated clinic 2(22%) cited refusals by husbands to participate in the study. The data show that in rural Western Kenya mobile phone-based strategies are a

The Effect of Verbal Reminders on Memory Reactivation in 2-, 3-, and 4-Year-Old Children

Science.gov (United States)

Imuta, Kana; Scarf, Damian; Hayne, Harlene

2013-01-01

For adults, verbal reminders provide a powerful key to unlock our memories. For example, a simple question, such as "Do you remember your wedding day?" can reactivate rich memories of the past, allowing us to recall experiences that may have occurred days, weeks, and even decades earlier. The ability to use another person's language to…

Initial Reduction of CO2 on Pd-, Ru-, and Cu-Doped CeO2(111) Surfaces: Effects of Surface Modification on Catalytic Activity and Selectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Chen; Wei, Shuxian; Zhou, Sainan; Zhang, Tian; Wang, Zhaojie; Ng, Siu-Pang; Lu, Xiaoqing; Wu, Chi-Man Lawrence; Guo, Wenyue

2017-08-09

Surface modification by metal doping is an effective treatment technique for improving surface properties for CO 2 reduction. Herein, the effects of doped Pd, Ru, and Cu on the adsorption, activation, and reduction selectivity of CO 2 on CeO 2 (111) were investigated by periodic density functional theory. The doped metals distorted the configuration of a perfect CeO 2 (111) by weakening the adjacent Ce-O bond strength, and Pd doping was beneficial for generating a highly active O vacancy. The analyses of adsorption energy, charge density difference, and density of states confirmed that the doped metals were conducive for enhancing CO 2 adsorption, especially for Cu/CeO 2 (111). The initial reductive dissociation CO 2 → CO* + O* on metal-doped CeO 2 (111) followed the sequence of Cu- > perfect > Pd- > Ru-doped CeO 2 (111); the reductive hydrogenation CO 2 + H → COOH* followed the sequence of Cu- > perfect > Ru- > Pd-doped CeO 2 (111), in which the most competitive route on Cu/CeO 2 (111) was exothermic by 0.52 eV with an energy barrier of 0.16 eV; the reductive hydrogenation CO 2 + H → HCOO* followed the sequence of Ru- > perfect > Pd-doped CeO 2 (111). Energy barrier decomposition analyses were performed to identify the governing factors of bond activation and scission along the initial CO 2 reduction routes. Results of this study provided deep insights into the effect of surface modification on the initial reduction mechanisms of CO 2 on metal-doped CeO 2 (111) surfaces.

Electroless Cu Plating on Anodized Al Substrate for High Power LED.

Science.gov (United States)

Rha, Sa-Kyun; Lee, Youn-Seoung

2015-03-01

Area-selective copper deposition on screen printed Ag pattern/anodized Al/Al substrate was attempted using a neutral electroless plating processes for printed circuit boards (PCBs), according to a range of variation of pH 6.5-pH 8 at 70 °C. The utilized basic electroless solution consisted of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, sodium phosphinate monohydrate, sodium citrate tribasic dihydrate, ammonium chloride, and nickel(II) sulfate hexahydrate. The pH of the copper plating solutions was adjusted from pH 6.5 to pH 8 using NH4OH. Using electroless plating in pH 6.5 and pH 7 baths, surface damage to the anodized Al layer hardly occurred; the structure of the plated Cu-rich films was a typical fcc-Cu, but a small Ni component was co-deposited. In electroless plating at pH 8, the surface of the anodized Al layer was damaged and the Cu film was composed of a lot of Ni and P which were co-deposited with Cu. Finally, in a pH 7 bath, we can make a selectively electroless plated Cu film on a PCB without any lithography and without surface damage to the anodized Al layer.

Cu-ZSM-5, Cu-ZSM-11, and Cu-ZSM-12 Catalysts for Direct NO Decomposition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kustova, Marina; Kustov, Arkadii; Christiansen, Sofie E.

2006-01-01

Cu-ZSM-5 has for many years been recognized as a unique catalyst for direct NO decomposition. Here, it is discovered that both Cu-ZSM-11 and Cu-ZSM-12 are about twice as active as Cu-ZSM-5. This difference is attributed to the active sites located almost exclusively in the straight zeolite pores...

Methanol steam reforming over Cu/CeO2 catalysts: influence of zinc addition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franco Tonelli

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Methanol steam reforming reaction was studied over Cu(5 wt.%/CeO2 with and without the presence of Zn. The Zn addition decreased the Cu+2 reducibility and increased the oxygen mobility of ceria. The main products were CO2 and H2 with small amount of CO. Selectivity to CO decreased with the Zn addition and it was lower at lower reaction temperatures and lower space velocities. At 230 ºC and W/F MeOH = 648 g min mol-1 selectivities to H2 and to CO2 were 100% on Zn/Cu/Ce. The catalytic results indicated that CO was mainly a secondary product formed from reverse water gas shift reaction.

Electromigration in Cu(Al) and Cu(Mn) damascene lines

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, C.-K.; Ohm, J.; Gignac, L. M.; Breslin, C. M.; Mittal, S.; Bonilla, G.; Edelstein, D.; Rosenberg, R.; Choi, S.; An, J. J.; Simon, A. H.; Angyal, M. S.; Clevenger, L.; Maniscalco, J.; Nogami, T.; Penny, C.; Kim, B. Y.

2012-05-01

The effects of impurities, Mn or Al, on interface and grain boundary electromigration (EM) in Cu damascene lines were investigated. The addition of Mn or Al solute caused a reduction in diffusivity at the Cu/dielectric cap interface and the EM activation energies for both Cu-alloys were found to increase by about 0.2 eV as compared to pure Cu. Mn mitigated and Al enhanced Cu grain boundary diffusion; however, no significant mitigation in Cu grain boundary diffusion was observed in low Mn concentration samples. The activation energies for Cu grain boundary diffusion were found to be 0.74 ± 0.05 eV and 0.77 ± 0.05 eV for 1.5 μm wide polycrystalline lines with pure Cu and Cu (0.5 at. % Mn) seeds, respectively. The effective charge number in Cu grain boundaries Z*GB was estimated from drift velocity and was found to be about -0.4. A significant enhancement in EM lifetimes for Cu(Al) or low Mn concentration bamboo-polycrystalline and near-bamboo grain structures was observed but not for polycrystalline-only alloy lines. These results indicated that the existence of bamboo grains in bamboo-polycrystalline lines played a critical role in slowing down the EM-induced void growth rate. The bamboo grains act as Cu diffusion blocking boundaries for grain boundary mass flow, thus generating a mechanical stress-induced back flow counterbalancing the EM force, which is the equality known as the "Blech short length effect."

Reminder from SC/ME to those in charge of first-aid boxes

CERN Document Server

2006-01-01

The Medical Service wishes to remind all those responsible for first-aid boxes that: all the medication and materials in the boxes must be checked at least once a month to make sure that they are always ready for use when needed; they must notify the Medical Service when their CERN contract comes to an end and designate someone to replace them. NB. The medication and materials supplied are for OCCASIONAL USE only and must not be used to treat personal medical conditions on a regular basis. For further information please contact the Infirmary (Building 57 R.004 - Tel 73802).

The relative efficacy of telephone and email reminders to elicit blood donation.

Science.gov (United States)

Germain, M; Godin, G

2016-04-01

The aim of the study was to test the relative efficacy of telephone and email reminders to trigger blood donation. A sample of 3454 donors was randomized to one of three conditions: phone only (n = 1176), email only (n = 1091) and phone + email (n = 1187). There was a higher proportion of donors who registered to give blood in the phone + email condition (18·45%) compared to the other two conditions (phone: 15·73%, P email: 13·20%; P email conditions did not differ significantly (P = 0·16), suggesting equivalent efficacy. © 2015 International Society of Blood Transfusion.

Dansyl-anthracene dyads for ratiometric fluorescence recognition of Cu2+.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Kuljit; Kumar, Subodh

2011-03-21

Dansyl-anthracene dyads 1 and 2 in CH(3)CN-H(2)O (7:3) selectively recognize Cu(2+) ions amongst alkali, alkaline earth and other heavy metal ions using both absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy. In absorbance, the addition of Cu(2+) to the solution of dyads 1 or 2 results in appearance of broad absorption band from 200 nm to 725 nm for dyad 1 and from 200 nm to 520 nm for dyad 2. This is associated with color change from colorless to blue (for 1) and fluorescent green (for 2). This bathochromic shift of the spectrum could be assigned to internal charge transfer from sulfonamide nitrogen to anthracene moiety. In fluorescence, under similar conditions dyads 1 and 2 on addition of Cu(2+) selectively quench fluorescence due to dansyl moiety between 520-570 nm (for 1)/555-650 nm (for 2) with simultaneous fluorescence enhancement at 470 nm and 505 nm for dyads 1 and 2, respectively. Hence these dyads provide opportunity for ratiometric analysis of 1-50 μM Cu(2+). The other metal ions viz. Fe(3+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cd(2+), Zn(2+), Hg(2+), Ag(+), Pb(2+), Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Ba(2+) do not interfere in the estimation of Cu(2+) except Cr(3+) in case of dyad 1. The coordination of dimethylamino group of dansyl unit with Cu(2+) causes quenching of fluorescence due to dansyl moiety between 520-600 nm and also restricts the photoinduced electron transfer from dimethylamino to anthracene moiety to release fluorescence between 450-510 nm. This simultaneous quenching and release of fluorescence respectively due to dansyl and anthracene moieties emulates into Cu(2+) induced ratiometric change.

The effect of Cu-rich sub-layer on the increased corrosion resistance of Cu-xZn alloys in chloride containing borate buffer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milosev, Ingrid; Mikic, Tadeja Kosec; Gaberscek, Miran

2006-01-01

The electrochemical behaviour of Cu-xZn alloys, as well as their constituent metals, in a borate buffer containing chloride ions in the molar range from 0.01 to 1 M are studied. Characteristics of these materials under anodic polarization are compared and the composition and morphology of the corrosion products formed in the course of polarization experiment are analysed by SEM and EDS. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance measurements are used for characterization of the surface layers formed on Cu, Zn and Cu-40Zn alloy during 2-h immersion at E oc in a borate buffer containing two different concentrations of chloride ions. New aspects of the behaviour of brass under E oc condition are revealed. The improved corrosion resistance of brass in chloride media, if compared to zinc metal, is attributed to a Cu-rich layer formed by the selective dissolution of zinc. Based on the results, a structural model describing the improved corrosion resistance of Cu-40Zn alloy with respect to Zn metal is proposed

Effects of processing parameters on Be/CuCrZr joining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jeong-Yong; Lee, Jung-Suk; Choi, Byung-Kwon; Park, Sang-Yun; Hong, Bong Guen; Jeong, Yong Hwan; Jung, Ki-Jung

2007-01-01

A joining of Be/CuCrZr has been considered as the key technology for the fabrication of the ITER first wall. Among the joining methods, Hot isostatic pressing (HIP), which is one of the diffusion bonding methods, is the most feasible method to join the Be and CuCrZr alloy. In the HIP joining of Be and CuCrZr, the interlayer was used to prevent the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds in the interface. Therefore, it is crucial to select a suitable interlayer for a joining of Be and CuCrZr. On the other hand, the diffusion between Be and CuCrZr would be enhanced with an increase of the HIP joining temperature, thereby increasing the joint strength. However, the HIP joining temperature is limited by the mechanical properties of CuCrZr. During the fabrication process of the ITER first wall, CuCrZr is subjected to several thermal cycles including a solution annealing, a cooling and an aging. The HIP joining of Be and CuCrZr corresponds to the aging of CuCrZr. The HIP joining at a higher temperature would cause a degradation of the mechanical properties of CuCrZr by an overaging effect although it is preferable for an improvement of the joint strength. In this study, the effect of the cooling rate on the mechanical properties of aged CuCrZr was investigated to find the maximum HIP temperature without a degradation of the mechanical properties of CuCrZr

Synthesis of Fe–Cu/TiO{sub 2} nanostructure and its use in construction of a sensitive and selective sensor for metformin determination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gholivand, Mohammad Bagher, E-mail: mbgholivand@yahoo.com; Shamsipur, Mojtaba; Paimard, Giti; Feyzi, Mostafa; Jafari, Fataneh

2014-09-01

A carbon paste electrode modified with Fe-Cu/TiO{sub 2} was prepared and used for low level determination of metformin (MET) using square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV). The Fe-Cu/TiO{sub 2} nanoparticle was synthesized by a modified sol–gel method. The surface structure and composition of nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD) and N{sub 2} physisorption. Also, electrochemical properties of the prepared nanocomposite modified electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. Under optimized conditions, the modified electrode exhibited a linear response over the concentration range of 15 nM to 75 μM MET, with a detection limit of 3 nM. The proposed sensor exhibited a high sensitivity, good selectivity and was successfully applied for MET determination in real samples such as human urine and pharmaceutical formulations. - Highlights: • A carbon paste modified electrode for determination of MET was developed. • The synthesized Fe-Cu/TiO{sub 2} nanocomposite was used as a modifier. • The sensor was successfully applied for MET determination in real samples. • Square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetric method was used for MET determination.

A randomized trial of the effect of centralized reminder/recall on immunizations and preventive care visits for adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Szilagyi, Peter G; Albertin, Christina; Humiston, Sharon G; Rand, Cynthia M; Schaffer, Stanley; Brill, Howard; Stankaitis, Joseph; Yoo, Byung-Kwang; Blumkin, Aaron; Stokley, Shannon

2013-01-01

To assess the impact of a managed care-based patient reminder/recall system on immunization rates and preventive care visits among low-income adolescents. We conducted a randomized controlled trial between December 2009 and December 2010 that assigned adolescents aged 11-17 years to one of three groups: mailed letter, telephone reminders, or control. Publicly insured youths (n = 4115) were identified in 37 participating primary care practices. The main outcome measures were immunization rates for routine vaccines (meningococcus, pertussis, HPV) and preventive visit rates at study end. Intervention and control groups were similar at baseline for demographics, immunization rates, and preventive visits. Among adolescents who were behind at the start, immunization rates at study end increased by 21% for mailed (P immunizations and preventive visits, with modest costs and modest impact. Copyright © 2013 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of using the health smart card vs. CPOE reminder system on the prescribing practices of non-obstetric physicians during outpatient visits for pregnant women in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, An-Jim; Chang, Polun

2012-09-01

There is an evidence that pregnant women have been prescribed a significant number of improper medications that could lead to potential damage for a developing fetus due to discontinuity of care. The safety of pregnant women raises public concern and there is a need to identify ways to prevent potential adverse events to the pregnant woman. This study used a health smart card with a clinical reminder system to keep continuous records of general outpatient visits of pregnant women to protect them from potential adverse events caused by improper prescription. The health smart card, issued to all 23 million citizens in Taiwan, was used to work with a Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) implemented at a 700-bed teaching medical center in Taipei to provide the outpatient information of pregnant women. FDA pregnancy risk classification was used to categorize the risk of pregnant women. The log file, combined with the physicians' and patients' profiles, were statistically examined using the Mantel-Haenszel technique to evaluate the impact of system in changing physician's prescription behavior. A total of 441 patients ranged in age from 15 to 50 years with 1114 prescriptions involved in FDA pregnancy risk classification C, D, and X during the study period. 144 reminders (13.1%) were accepted by physicians for further assessment and 100 (69.4%) of them were modified. Non-obstetric physicians in non-emergency setting were more intended to accept reminders (27.8%, 4.9 folds than obstetricians). Reminders triggered on patients in second trimester (15.5%) were accepted by all physicians more than third trimester (OR 1.52, psmart card armed with CPOE reminder system and well-defined criteria had the potential to decrease harmful medication prescribed to pregnant patients. The results show better conformance for non-obstetric physicians (26%) and when physicians accepted the alerts they are more likely to went back and review their orders (69%). In sum, reminder criteria

Electrochemical sensors based on gold nanoparticles modified with rhodamine B hydrazide to sensitively detect Cu(II)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peng, Donglai; Hu, Bin; Kang, Mengmeng [Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Science, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No. 136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); Wang, Minghua [Henan Collaborative Innovation Center of Environmental Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No.136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); He, Linghao [Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Science, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No. 136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); Zhang, Zhihong, E-mail: mainzhh@163.com [Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Science, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No. 136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); Henan Collaborative Innovation Center of Environmental Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No.136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); Fang, Shaoming, E-mail: mingfang@zzuli.edu.cn [Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Science, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No. 136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China); Henan Collaborative Innovation Center of Environmental Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, No.136, Science Avenue, Zhengzhou 450001 (China)

2016-12-30

Highlights: • An electrochemical sensor based on gold nanoparticles modified with rhodamine B hydrazide (AuNPs-RBH) was developed. • The sensor was applied in the highly sensitive and selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} in water. • The electrochemical sensor displays excellent regeneration, stability, and practicability for Cu{sup 2+} detection. • EIS was used to determine Cu{sup 2+} ions in an aqueous solution with the developed AuNPs-RBH-based electrochemical sensor. - Abstract: An electrochemical sensor based on gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) modified with rhodamine B hydrazide (RBH) (AuNPs-RBH) was developed and applied in the highly sensitive and selective detection of Cu{sup 2+} in water. RBH molecules were bounded onto the surface of AuNPs via the strong interaction between the amino groups and Au NPs. The chemical structure variations were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and fluoresence spectroscopy. Additionally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to determine Cu{sup 2+} ions in an aqueous solution with the developed AuNPs-RBH-based electrochemical sensor. Results show that the fabricated sensor exhibits good electrochemical performance because of the presence of Au NPs and high affinity with the Cu{sup 2+} resulting from the strong coordination chemistry between Cu{sup 2+} and RBH. The as-developed sensor towards detecting Cu{sup 2+} has a detection limitation of 12.5 fM within the concentration range of 0.1 pM–1 nM by using the electrochemical impedance technique. It also displays excellent selectivity, regeneration, stability, and practicability for Cu{sup 2+} detection. Therefore, the new strategy of the RBH-based electrochemical sensor exhibits great potential application in environment treatment and protection.

Carbon Supported Oxide-Rich Pd-Cu Bimetallic Electrocatalysts for Ethanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Media Enhanced by Cu/CuOx

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zengfeng Guo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Different proportions of oxide-rich PdCu/C nanoparticle catalysts were prepared by the NaBH4 reduction method, and their compositions were tuned by the molar ratios of the metal precursors. Among them, oxide-rich Pd0.9Cu0.1/C (Pd:Cu = 9:1, metal atomic ratio exhibits the highest electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR in alkaline media. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM confirmed the existence of both Cu and CuOx in the as-prepared Pd0.9Cu0.1/C. About 74% of the Cu atoms are in their oxide form (CuO or Cu2O. Besides the synergistic effect of Cu, CuOx existed in the Pd-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles works as a promoter for the EOR. The decreased Pd 3d electron density disclosed by XPS is ascribed to the formation of CuOx and the spill-over of oxygen-containing species from CuOx to Pd. The low Pd 3d electron density will decrease the adsorption of CH3COads intermediates. As a result, the electrocatalytic activity is enhanced. The onset potential of oxide-rich Pd0.9Cu0.1/C is negative shifted 150 mV compared to Pd/C. The oxide-rich Pd0.9Cu0.1/C also exhibited high stability, which indicated that it is a candidate for the anode of direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs.

Design of an Electronic Reminder System for Supporting the Integerity of Nursing Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chien-Min; Hou, I-Ching; Chen, Hsiao-Ping; Weng, Yung-Ching

2016-01-01

The integrity of electronic nursing records (ENRs) stands for the quality of medical records. But patients' conditions are varied (e.g. not every patient had wound or need fall prevention), to achieve the integrity of ENRs depends much on clinical nurses' attention. Our study site, an one 2,300-bed hospital in northern Taiwan, there are a total of 20 ENRs including nursing assessments, nursing care plan, discharge planning etc. implemented in the whole hospital before 2014. It become important to help clinical nurses to decrease their human recall burden to complete these records. Thus, the purpose of this study was to design an ENRs reminder system (NRS) to facilitate nursing recording process. The research team consisted of an ENR engineer, a clinical head nurse and a nursing informatics specialist began to investigate NRS through three phases (e.g. information requirements; design and implementation). In early 2014, a qualitative research method was used to identify NRS information requirements through both groups (e.g. clinical nurses and their head nurses) focus interviews. According to the their requirements, one prototype was created by the nursing informatics specialist. Then the engineer used Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, C#, and Oracle to designed a web-based NRS (Figure 1). Then the integrity reminder system which including a total of twelve electronic nursing records was designed and the preliminary accuracy validation of the system was 100%. NRS could be used to support nursing recording process and prepared for implementing in the following phase.

Straightforward grafting approach for cyclam-functionalized screen-printed electrodes for selective Cu(II) determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jasmin, Jean-Philippe; Ouhenia-Ouadahi, Karima; Miserque, Frédéric; Dumas, Eddy; Cannizzo, Caroline; Chaussé, Annie

2016-01-01

We report in this paper an original way to covalently bind the macrocyclic ligand, 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam), through diazonium salt chemistry, on the surface of carbon screen-printed electrodes (SPEs). The in situ synthesis of the diazonium salt obtained from the amine precursor derived from the cyclam and its electrografting are described. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy was used to characterize this functionalized surface. Owing to the strong cyclam–Cu(II) affinity, the so called SPE-cyclam can be used as electrochemical sensors for Cu(II) determination at trace levels. The influence of electroanalysis parameters such as the accumulation time and the pH of the medium were investigated. An interference study was carried out with numerous metallic cations and few interference was found for Cu(II) quantification. The described method provided a limit of detection and a limit of quantification of 1.3 × 10"−"8 M and 4.0 × 10"−"8 M, respectively. Interference study and performances show that SPE-cyclam could be considered as efficient sensors for environmental analysis.

Highly charged swelling mica reduces Cu bioavailability in Cu-contaminated soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stuckey, Jason W. [Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Neaman, Alexander [Facultad de Agronomia, P. Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Centro Regional de Estudios en Alimentos Saludables (Chile); Ravella, Ramesh; Komarneni, Sridhar [Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Martinez, Carmen Enid [Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 116 ASI Building, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)], E-mail: cem17@psu.edu

2009-01-15

This is the first test of a highly charged swelling mica's (Na-2-mica) ability to reduce the plant-absorbed Cu in Cu-contaminated soils from Chile. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was grown in two acid soils (Sector 2: pH 4.2, total Cu = 172 mg Cu kg{sup -1} and Sector 3: pH 4.2, total Cu = 112 mg Cu kg{sup -1}) amended with 0.5% and 1% (w/w) mica, and 1% (w/w) montmorillonite. At 10 weeks of growth, both mica treatments decreased the shoot Cu of ryegrass grown in Sector 2 producing shoot Cu concentrations above 21-22 mg Cu kg{sup -1} (the phytotoxicity threshold for that species), yet the mica treatments did not reduce shoot Cu concentrations when grown in Sector 3, which were at a typical level. The mica treatments improved shoot growth in Sector 3 by reducing free and extractable Cu to low enough levels where other nutrients could compete for plant absorption and translocation. In addition, the mica treatments improved root growth in both soils, and the 1% mica treatment reduced root Cu in both soils. This swelling mica warrants further testing of its ability to assist re-vegetation and reduce Cu bioavailability in Cu-contaminated surface soils. - In situ remediation of Cu-contaminated soils with a synthetic mica (Na-2-mica) will aid in re-vegetative efforts.

Highly active dealloyed Cu@Pt core-shell electrocatalyst towards 2-propanol electrooxidation in acidic solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poochai, Chatwarin, E-mail: p_chatwarin@yahoo.com

2017-02-28

Highlights: • This is the first report on electrooxidation of 2-propanol in acidic media on dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP core-shell electrocatalyst. • The dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP is prepared using cyclic co-electrodeposition and selective Cu dealloying (CCEd-sCuD). • The structure of dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP is core-shell structure with Cu-rich core and Pt-rich surface. • The dealloyed Cu@Pt/CP shows high activity and great stability towards 2-propanol electrooxidation in acidic media. - Abstract: Dealloyed Cu@Pt core-shell electrocatalyst was fabricated by cyclic co-electrodeposition and selective Cu dealloying (CCEd-sCuD) on carbon paper (CP), namely Cu@Pt/CP. The Cu@Pt/CP exhibited a core-shell structure comprising with a Cu-rich core and a Pt-rich shell. The crystalline phases of Pt/CP and Cu@Pt/CP were a face-centered cubic (fcc). The compressive lattice strain approximately 0.85% was found in the Cu@Pt/CP owing to a lattice mismatch between a core and a shell region. In the core-region, Cu was formed Pt-Cu alloy as major and copper oxide and also metallic copper as minor. The morphology and grain size of the Cu@Pt/CP displayed a porous spherical shape with 100 nm in diameter, while those of Pt/CP seemed to be a cubic shape with smaller diameter of 40 nm. In electrochemical and catalytic activity, the surface of Cu@Pt/CP had a larger electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) than that of Pt/CP due to a porous formation caused by Cu dealloying. It is not surprising that the Cu@Pt/CP showed higher catalytic activity and greater stability towards 0.5 M 2-propanol electrooxidation in 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} in terms of peak current density (j{sub p}), peak potential (E{sub p}), onset potential (E{sub onset}), diffusion coefficient (D), and charge transfer resistance (R{sub ct}) which were caused by electronic structure modification, higher compressive lattice strain, and larger ECSA, compared with Pt/CP.

Heteropoly acid promoted Cu and Fe catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Putluru, Siva Sankar Reddy; Mossin, Susanne L.; Riisager, Anders

2011-01-01

Cu/TiO2, Fe/TiO2 and heteropoly acid promoted Cu/TiO2, Fe/TiO2 catalysts were prepared and characterized by N2 physisorption, XRPD, NH3-TPD, H2-TPR and EPR. The catalysts exhibited only crystalline TiO2 phases with the active metals and promoters in highly dispersed state. The acidic properties...... activity and acidity was lower for promoted catalysts than for unpromoted catalysts. In the heteropoly acid promoted catalysts the SCR active Cu and Fe metals were protected from potassium poisons by bonding of the potassium to the Brønsted acid centres. Thus heteropoly acid promoted catalysts might...... be suitable for biomass fired power plant SCR applications....

Punicalagin Green Functionalized Cu/Cu2O/ZnO/CuO Nanocomposite for Potential Electrochemical Transducer and Catalyst

Science.gov (United States)

Fuku, X.; Kaviyarasu, K.; Matinise, N.; Maaza, M.

2016-09-01

A novel ternary Punica granatum L-Cu/Cu2O/CuO/ZnO nanocomposite was successfully synthesised via green route. In this work, we demonstrate that the green synthesis of metal oxides is more viable and facile compare to other methods, i.e., physical and chemical routes while presenting a potential electrode for energy applications. The prepared nanocomposite was characterised by both microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques revealed different transitional phases with an average nanocrystallite size of 29-20 mm. It was observed that the nanocomposites changed from amorphous-slightly crystalline Cu/Cu2O to polycrystalline Cu/Cu2O/CuO/ZnO at different calcination temperatures (room temperature-RT- 600 °C). The Cu/Cu2O/ZnO/CuO metal oxides proved to be highly crystalline and showed irregularly distributed particles with different sizes. Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the purity while together with ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy proved the proposed mechanism of the synthesised nanocomposite. UV-Vis showed improved catalytic activity of the prepared metal oxides, evident by narrow band gap energy. The redox and electrochemical properties of the prepared nanocomposite were achieved by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance (EIS) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD). The maximum specific capacitance ( C s) was calculated to be 241 F g-1 at 50 mV s-1 for Cu/Cu2O/CuO/ZnO nanoplatelets structured electrode. Moreover, all the CuO nanostructures reveal better power performance, excellent rate as well as long term cycling stability. Such a study will encourages a new design for a wide spectrum of materials for smart electronic device applications.

Mobile phone reminders and peer counseling improve adherence and treatment outcomes of patients on ART in Malaysia: A randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdulrahman, Surajudeen Abiola; Rampal, Lekhraj; Ibrahim, Faisal; Radhakrishnan, Anuradha P; Kadir Shahar, Hayati; Othman, Norlijah

2017-01-01

Adherence to treatment remains the cornerstone of long term viral suppression and successful treatment outcomes among patients receiving Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). Evaluate the effectiveness of mobile phone reminders and peer counseling in improving adherence and treatment outcomes among HIV positive patients on ART in Malaysia. A single-blind, parallel group RCT conducted in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Malaysia in which 242 adult Malaysian patients were randomized to intervention or control groups. Intervention consisted of a reminder module delivered through SMS and telephone call reminders by trained research assistants for 24 consecutive weeks (starting from date of ART initiation), in addition to adherence counseling at every clinic visit. The length of intended follow up for each patient was 6 months. Data on adherence behavior of patients was collected using specialized, pre-validated Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group (AACTG) adherence questionnaires. Data on weight, clinical symptoms, CD4 count and viral load tests were also collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 and R software. Repeated measures ANOVA, Friedman's ANOVA and Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate efficacy of the intervention. The response rate after 6 months follow up was 93%. There were no significant differences at baseline in gender, employment status, income distribution and residential location of respondents between the intervention and control group. After 6 months follow up, the mean adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (95.7; 95% CI: 94.39-96.97) as compared to the control group (87.5; 95% CI: 86.14-88.81). The proportion of respondents who had Good (>95%) adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (92.2%) compared to the control group (54.6%). A significantly lower frequency in missed appointments (14.0% vs 35.5%) (p = 0.001), lower viral load (p = 0.001), higher rise in CD4 count (p = 0.017), lower incidence of

Mobile phone reminders and peer counseling improve adherence and treatment outcomes of patients on ART in Malaysia: A randomized clinical trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surajudeen Abiola Abdulrahman

Full Text Available Adherence to treatment remains the cornerstone of long term viral suppression and successful treatment outcomes among patients receiving Antiretroviral Therapy (ART.Evaluate the effectiveness of mobile phone reminders and peer counseling in improving adherence and treatment outcomes among HIV positive patients on ART in Malaysia.A single-blind, parallel group RCT conducted in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Malaysia in which 242 adult Malaysian patients were randomized to intervention or control groups. Intervention consisted of a reminder module delivered through SMS and telephone call reminders by trained research assistants for 24 consecutive weeks (starting from date of ART initiation, in addition to adherence counseling at every clinic visit. The length of intended follow up for each patient was 6 months. Data on adherence behavior of patients was collected using specialized, pre-validated Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group (AACTG adherence questionnaires. Data on weight, clinical symptoms, CD4 count and viral load tests were also collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 and R software. Repeated measures ANOVA, Friedman's ANOVA and Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate efficacy of the intervention.The response rate after 6 months follow up was 93%. There were no significant differences at baseline in gender, employment status, income distribution and residential location of respondents between the intervention and control group. After 6 months follow up, the mean adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (95.7; 95% CI: 94.39-96.97 as compared to the control group (87.5; 95% CI: 86.14-88.81. The proportion of respondents who had Good (>95% adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (92.2% compared to the control group (54.6%. A significantly lower frequency in missed appointments (14.0% vs 35.5% (p = 0.001, lower viral load (p = 0.001, higher rise in CD4 count (p = 0.017, lower incidence of

Fast responsive fluorescence turn-on sensor for Cu{sup 2+} and its application in live cell imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Jiaoliang, E-mail: wangjiaoliang@126.com [College of Chemistry and Environment Engineering, Hunan City University, Yiyang 413000 (China); Li Hao; Long Liping; Xiao Guqing; Xie Dan [College of Chemistry and Environment Engineering, Hunan City University, Yiyang 413000 (China)

2012-09-15

A new effective fluorescent sensor based on rhodamine was synthesized, which was induced by Cu{sup 2+} in aqueous media to produce turn-on fluorescence. The new sensor 1 exhibited good selectivity for Cu{sup 2+} over other heavy and transition metal (HTM) ions in H{sub 2}O/CH{sub 3}CN(7:3, v/v). Upon addition of Cu{sup 2+}, a remarkable color change from colorless to pink was easily observed by the naked eye, and the dramatic fluorescence turn-on was corroborated. Furthermore, kinetic assay indicates that sensor 1 could be used for real-time tracking of Cu{sup 2+} in cells and organisms. In addition, the turn-on fluorescent change upon the addition of Cu{sup 2+} was also applied in bioimaging. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A new effective fluorescent sensor based on rhodamine was developed to detect Cu{sup 2+}. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The sensor exhibited fast response, good selectivity at physiological pH condition. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The sensor was an effective intracellular Cu{sup 2+} ion imaging agent.

Structural, catalytic and magnetic properties of Cu{sub 1-X}Co{sub X}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Briceno, Sarah, E-mail: sbriceno@ivic.gob.ve [Laboratorio de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Centro de Fisica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (IVIC), Apartado 20632, Caracas 1020-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Del Castillo, Hector [Laboratorio de Cinetica y Catalisis, Departamento de Quimica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Sagredo, V. [Laboratorio de Magnetismo, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Bramer-Escamilla, Werner; Silva, Pedro [Laboratorio de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Centro de Fisica, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas (IVIC), Apartado 20632, Caracas 1020-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of)

2012-12-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cu{sub 1-X}Co{sub X}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ferrite synthesized by sol-gel auto-combustion method. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Structural identification, magnetic and catalytic properties were investigated. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Characterization by TGA, DTA, XRD, SEM, TEM and VSM techniques. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Magnetic properties decrease with the increase of Cu{sup 2+} doping. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The selective conversion to N{sub 2} is higher for Cu-Co mixed ferrites. - Abstract: Copper substituted cobalt ferrite Cu{sub 1-X}Co{sub X}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (0 {<=}x {<=} 1) have been synthesized using sol-gel auto combustion method with citric acid as fuel. Structural identification, magnetic and catalytic properties were investigated using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry and their application in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx were studied. Analysis of structural properties reveals that all samples have cubic spinel structure. Room temperature magnetic hysteresis measurements as a function of magnetic field infer that the magnetic properties decrease with Cu{sup 2+} doping which may be due to the difference of the magnetic moment of Cu{sup 2+} and Co{sup 2+} ions. The higher activity of the samples in NO selective reduction to N{sub 2} occurs at 350 Degree-Sign C, reaching a maximum of 38% NO conversion and 95% of selective conversion to N{sub 2}. The compositions containing both Cu{sup 2+} and Co{sup 2+} ions are more active to the products selectivity to N{sub 2}, suggesting a synergistic effect on the active surface of ferrite and the effect of Co{sup 2+} is more pronounced than Cu{sup 2+} towards NO conversion.

Cu-62, Cu-64 and Cu-66 production with 4.2 MeV deuterons; Produccion de {sup 62} Cu y {sup 64} Cu con deuterones de 4,2 MeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Avila, Mario; Morales, J R; Riquelme, H O [Chile Univ., Santiago (Chile). Facultad de Ciencias. Dept. de Fisica

1997-12-31

Full text: The natural copper irradiation with deuterons produces the Cu-62, Cu-64 and Cu-66 radionuclides. Of two radioisotopes, those with deficiencies in neutrons, are applied in nuclear medicine diagnostic processes, mainly for the nuclear characteristic of the decay modes. The positron emitters, of short life mean Cu-62 (9.1 min, {beta}{sup +}) and Cu(12.7 h), are radionuclides applied in radio pharmacological preparation for brain, core, blood flux studies. The radiochemical process consists in the de solution of the irradiated metallic copper target, in acid medium. The result solution, can be neutralized with a base or a buffer at wished pH. Using a deuteron beam of 4,2 {+-} 0,1 MeV energy has been obtained total yields of 1,103 {+-} 0,011 {mu}Cl/{mu}Ah medium for 62 Cu and of 0,148 {+-} 0,015 {mu}Cl/{mu}Ah for 64 Cu.

Growth and decay of hcp-like Cu hut-shaped structures on W(100)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bollmann, Tjeerd Rogier Johannes; van Gastel, Raoul; Wormeester, Herbert; Zandvliet, Henricus J.W.; Poelsema, Bene

2012-01-01

We have studied both the morphology and structure of thin Cu deposits on W(100) during growth and desorption, using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) and selective area low-energy electron diffraction (μLEED). During growth at 674 K hut-shaped Cu crystallites with steep facets (> 54∘) coexist

Selective Sensing of Methanol by Poly( m-aminophenol)/Copper Nanocomposite

Science.gov (United States)

Bhuyan, Madhusmita; Samanta, Siddhartha; Kar, Pradip

2018-03-01

The nanocomposite film of conducting poly( m-aminophenol) with copper nanoparticles (PmAP/Cu) prepared by a single-step process has been demonstrated as the sensor material for selective detection of methanol vapor. Different techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate the interfacial interactions between PmAP and Cu nanoparticles within their conducting nanocomposites. The induced doping interaction through fluctuating electrostatic charge transfer between free -OH groups of the PmAP and Cu nanoparticles was confirmed from the spectral characterizations. About 3 wt% of Cu nanoparticles having average size of around 30-50 nm confirmed by the SEM and TEM analysis, was optimized inside the PmAP matrix in terms of better dispersion as well as achieving the highest conductivity (1.05 × 10-6 S/cm). The sensing performances, viz., % response, response time, recovery time, selectivity and reproducibility of the nanocomposites were studied towards methanol vapor at different concentrations. The mechanism of selective methanol vapor sensing by PmAP/Cu nanocomposite film has been explained on the basis of selective dipole interaction characterized by zeta potential measurement.

Automated electronic reminders to facilitate primary cardiovascular disease prevention: randomised controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Tim A; Thorogood, Margaret; Griffiths, Frances; Munday, Stephen; Friede, Tim; Stables, David

2010-01-01

Background Primary care databases contain cardiovascular disease risk factor data, but practical tools are required to improve identification of at-risk patients. Aim To test the effects of a system of electronic reminders (the ‘e-Nudge’) on cardiovascular events and the adequacy of data for cardiovascular risk estimation. Design of study Randomised controlled trial. Setting Nineteen general practices in the West Midlands, UK. Method The e-Nudge identifies four groups of patients aged over 50 years on the basis of estimated cardiovascular risk and adequacy of risk factor data in general practice computers. Screen messages highlight individuals at raised risk and prompt users to complete risk profiles where necessary. The proportion of the study population in the four groups was measured, as well as the rate of cardiovascular events in each arm after 2 years. Results Over 38 000 patients' electronic records were randomised. The intervention led to an increase in the proportion of patients with sufficient data who were identifiably at risk, with a difference of 1.94% compared to the control group (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.38 to 2.50, P<0.001). A corresponding reduction occurred in the proportion potentially at risk but requiring further data for a risk estimation (difference = –3.68%, 95% CI = –4.53 to –2.84, P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in the incidence of cardiovascular events (rate ratio = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.10, P = 0.59). Conclusion Automated electronic reminders using routinely collected primary care data can improve the adequacy of cardiovascular risk factor information during everyday practice and increase the visibility of the at-risk population. PMID:20353659

Catalytic properties of pure and K+-doped Cu O/Mg O system towards 2-propanol conversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Molla, S. A.; Amin, N. H.; Hammed, M. N.; Sultan, S. N.; El-Shobaky, G. A.

2013-01-01

Cu O/Mg O system having different compositions was prepared by impregnation method followed by calcination at 400-900 C. The effect of Cu O content, calcination temperature and doping with small amounts of K + species (1-3 mol %) on physicochemical, surface and catalytic properties of the system were investigated using X-ray diffraction, adsorption of N 2 at - 196 C, and conversion of isopropyl alcohol at 150-400 C using a flow technique. The results revealed that the solids having the formulae 0.2 and 0.3 Cu O/Mg O calcined at 400 C consisted of nano sized Mg O and Cu O as major phases together with Cu 2 O as minor phase. The Bet-surface areas of different absorbents are decreased by increasing Cu O content, calcination temperature and K + -doping. Mg O-support material showed very small catalytic activity in 2-propanol conversion. The investigated system behaved as selective catalyst for dehydrogenation of 2-propanol with selectivity >80%. The catalytic activity increased by increasing Cu O content and decreased by increasing the calcination temperature within 400-900 C. K + -doping increased the catalytic activity and catalytic durability. (Author)

Do subtle reminders of money change people's political views?

Science.gov (United States)

Rohrer, Doug; Pashler, Harold; Harris, Christine R

2015-08-01

A number of researchers have reported studies showing that subtle reminders of money can alter behaviors and beliefs that are seemingly unrelated to money. In 1 set of studies published in this journal, Caruso, Vohs, Baxter, and Waytz (2013) found that incidental exposures to money led subjects to indicate greater support for inequality, socioeconomic differences, group-based discrimination, and free market economies. We conducted high-powered replication attempts of these 4 money priming effects and found no evidence of priming (weighted Cohen's d = 0.03). We later learned that Caruso et al. also found several null effects in their line of research that were not reported in the original article. In addition, the money priming effect observed in the first study of Caruso et al. was included in the Many Labs Replication Project (Klein et al., 2014), and only 1 of the 36 labs was able to find the effect. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Cu(I)/Cu(II) mixed-valence surface complexes of S-[(2-hydroxyamino)-2-oxoethyl]-N,N-dibutyldithiocarbamate: Hydrophobic mechanism to malachite flotation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Sheng; Zhong, Hong; Liu, Guangyi; Xu, Zhenghe

2018-02-15

Hydroxamate and sulfhydryl surfactants are effective collectors for flotation of copper minerals. The combination application of hydroxamate and sulfhydryl collectors has been proved to be an effective approach for improving the flotation recovery of non-sulfide copper minerals. A surfactant owing both hydroxamate and dithiocarbamate groups might exhibit strong affinity to non-sulfide copper minerals through double sites adsorption, rendering an enhanced hydrophobization to non-sulfide copper minerals flotation. The flotation performance of S-[(2-hydroxyamino)-2-oxoethyl]- N,N-dibutyldithiocarbamate (HABTC) to malachite, calcite and quartz were first evaluated through systematic micro-flotation experiments. HABTC's hydrophobic mechanism to malachite was further investigated and analyzed by zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The micro-flotation results demonstrated HABTC was an excellent collector for malachite flotation and exhibited favorable selectivity for flotation separation of malachite from quartz or calcite under pH 8.5-10.3. Zeta potential and FTIR implied that HABTC might bond with the surface copper atoms of malachite, with releasing the H + ions of its hydroxamate group into pulp. ToF-SIMS provided clear evidences that the Cu-hydroxamate and Cu-dithiocarbamate groups were formed on malachite surfaces after HABTC adsorption. XPS revealed that Cu(I)/Cu(II) mixed-valence surface complexes of HABTC anchored on malachite through formation of Cu(I)S and Cu(II)O bonds, accompanying with reduction of partial surface Cu(II) to Cu(I). The Cu(I)/Cu(II) mixed-valence double chelating character and "chair"-shape N,N-dibutyldithiocarbamate hydrophobic group, resulting in an enhanced affinity and hydrophobization of HABTC to malachite flotation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low Overpotential and High Current CO2 Reduction with Surface Reconstructed Cu Foam Electrodess

KAUST Repository

Min, Shixiong

2016-06-23

While recent reports have demonstrated that oxide-derived Cu-based electrodes exhibit high selectivity for CO2 reduction at low overpotential, the low catalytic current density (<2 mA/cm2 at -0.45 V vs. RHE) still largely limits its applications for large-scale fuel synthesis. Here we report an extremely high current density for CO2 reduction at low overpotential using a Cu foam electrode prepared by air-oxidation and subsequent electroreduction. Apart from possessing three-dimensional (3D) open frameworks, the resulting Cu foam electrodes prepared at higher temperatures exhibit enhanced electrochemically active surface area and distinct surface structures. In particular, the Cu foam electrode prepared at 500 °C exhibits an extremely high geometric current density of ~9.4 mA/cm2 in CO2-satrurated 0.1 M KHCO3 aqueous solution and achieving ~39% CO and ~23% HCOOH Faradaic efficiencies at -0.45 V vs. RHE. The high activity and significant selectivity enhancement are attributable to the formation of abundant grain-boundary supported active sites and preferable (100) and (111) facets as a result of reconstruction of Cu surface facets. This work demonstrates that the structural integration of Cu foam with open 3D frameworks and the favorable surface structures is a promising strategy to develop an advanced Cu electrocatalyst that can operate at high current density and low overpotential for CO2 reduction.

Preparation of conductive Cu patterns by directly writing using nano-Cu ink

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Wei [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Li, Wenjiang; Wei, Jun [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); Tan, Junjun [School of Chemical and Materials and Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Hubei 435003 (China); Chen, Minfang, E-mail: mfchentj@126.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China)

2014-07-01

Conductive and air-stable Cu patterns were directly made on ordinary photo paper using a roller pen filled with nano-Cu ink, which was mainly composed of metallic Cu nanoparticles (NPs) capped with poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). The nano-Cu NPs were obtained via the reduction of Cu{sup 2+} ions by using an excess of hydrazine and PVP. The low sintering temperature (160 °C) in Ar atmosphere played an important role for the preparation of air-stable Cu patterns. The conductivity of a radio-frequency identification antenna made from nano-Cu ink was tested by a lamp, and its resistivity achieved 13.4 ± 0.4 μΩ cm. The Cu NPs were confirmed by means of X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectra, and the Cu patterns were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. A mechanism for the high conductivity of the Cu pattern made from Cu NPs is proposed. - Highlights: • The synthesis of pure Cu is related to the reducing agent and capping agent. • The sintering under Ar atmosphere prevents Cu pattern's rapid oxidation. • The formation of the bulk Cu decreases the resistivity of the Cu pattern.

Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO loaded on the carbon layer derived from novel precursors with amazing catalytic performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Xiaoli, E-mail: zhaoxiaoli_zxl@126.com [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Tan, Yixin [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085 (China); Wu, Fengchang, E-mail: wu_fengchang@126.com [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Niu, Hongyun [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085 (China); Tang, Zhi [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Cai, Yaqi [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085 (China); Giesy, John P. [State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China); Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada)

2016-11-15

A simple, novel method for synthesis of Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO on surfaces of carbon (Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO@C) as a non-noble-metal catalyst for reduction of organic compounds is presented. Compared with noble metals, Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO@C particles are more efficient and less expensive. Characterization of the Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO@C composites by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy and Raman analysis, revealed that it was composed of graphitized carbon with numerous nanoparticles (100 nm in diameter) of Cu/CuO/Cu{sub 2}O that were uniformly distributed on internal and external surfaces of the carbon support. Gallic acid (GA) has been used as both organic ligand and carbon precursor with metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as the sacrificial template and metal oxide precursor in this green synthesis. The material combined the advantages of MOFs and Cu-containing materials, the porous structure provided a large contact area and channels for the pollutions, which results in more rapid catalytic degradation of pollutants and leads to greater efficiency of catalysis. The material gave excellent catalytic performance for organic dyes and phenols. In this study, Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO@C was used as catalytic to reduce 4-NP, which has been usually adopted as a model reaction to check the catalytic ability. Catalytic experiment results show that 4-NP was degraded approximately 3 min by use of 0.04 mg of catalyst and the conversion of pollutants can reach more than 99%. The catalyst exhibited little change in efficacy after being utilized five times. Rates of degradation of dyes, such as Methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenolic compounds such as O-Nitrophenol (O-NP) and 2-Nitroaniline (2-NA) were all similar. - Highlights: • We present an effective catalyst for reductive degradation of organic dyes and phenols in water. • Compared with noble metals, Cu/Cu{sub 2}O/CuO@C particles are more efficient and less

A new rhodamine B based fluorometric chemodosimeter for Cu2+ ion in aqueous and cellular media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kempahanumakkagaari, Suresh Kumar; Thippeswamy, Ramakrishnappa; Malingappa, Pandurangappa

2014-01-01

A simple, sensitive and selective fluorescent chemo dosimeter rhodamine B phenyl hydrazide (RBPH) for Cu 2+ was proposed. This probe is non fluorescent and colorless but exhibits fluorescent enhancement at 580 nm and displayed color change from colorless to pink for Cu 2+ in the pH range 1–6. Fluorescence microscope experimental results reveals that this chemo sensor is cell permeable and can be used for fluorescence imaging of Cu 2+ ions in living cells. This probe can detect Cu 2+ with good linear relationships from 10 to 100 nM with r=0.99971 then limit of detection was found to be 0.015 nM with ±0.91% RSD at 10 nM concentrations. -- Highlights: • The new sensitive, highly selective fluorescent chemodosimeter for Cu 2+ based on spirolactam ring opening process has been proposed. • The probe posse’s excellent cell permeability and it has been applied for fluorescence imaging of Cu 2+ ions in MCF-7 cell lines. • The protocol has been successfully applied for copper determination in blood and urine samples

A Cu-Zn nanoparticle promoter for selective carbon dioxide reduction and its application in visible-light-active Z-scheme systems using water as an electron donor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Ge; Sako, Hiroshi; Gubbala, Ramesh V; Ueda, Shigenori; Yamaguchi, Akira; Abe, Hideki; Miyauchi, Masahiro

2018-04-17

Selective carbon dioxide photoreduction to produce formic acid was achieved under visible light irradiation using water molecules as electron donors, similar to natural plants, based on the construction of a Z-scheme light harvesting system modified with a Cu-Zn alloy nanoparticle co-catalyst. The faradaic efficiency of our Z-scheme system for HCOOH generation was over 50% under visible light irradiation.

Cu2O-tipped ZnO nanorods with enhanced photoelectrochemical performance for CO2 photoreduction

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Muzaffar; Wang, Yanjie; Hu, Haifeng; He, Meng; Hassan Shah, Aamir; Lin, Lin; Li, Pan; Shao, Kunjuan; Reda Woldu, Abebe; He, Tao

2018-06-01

The design of Cu2O-tipped ZnO nanorods is proposed here aiming at enhanced photoelectrochemical properties. The tip-selective deposition of Cu2O is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The photoinduced charge behavior like charge generation, separation and transport has been thoroughly studied by UV-vis absorption analysis and different photoelectrochemical characterizations, including transient photocurrent, incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS), and Mott-Schottky measurements. The photoelectrochemical characterizations clearly indicate that ZnO/Cu2O structures exhibit much higher performance than pristine ZnO, due to the formation of p-n junction, as well as the tip selective growth of Cu2O on ZnO. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction in aqueous solution under UV-visible light illumination shows that CO is the main product, and with the increase of the Cu2O content in the heterostructure, the CO yield increases. This work shows that Cu2O-tipped ZnO nanorods possess improved behavior of charge generation, separation and transport, which may work as a potential candidate for photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Toward Rational Design of Cu/SSZ-13 Selective Catalytic Reduction Catalysts: Implications from Atomic-Level Understanding of Hydrothermal Stability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, James [Institute; The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646515, Pullman, Washington 99164, United States; Wang, Yilin [Institute; Walter, Eric D. [Environmental; Washton, Nancy M. [Environmental; Mei, Donghai [Institute; Kovarik, Libor [Environmental; Engelhard, Mark H. [Environmental; Prodinger, Sebastian [Institute; Wang, Yong [Institute; The; amp, Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646515, Pullman, Washington 99164, United States; Peden, Charles H. F. [Institute; Gao, Feng [Institute

2017-11-03

The hydrothermal stability of Cu/SSZ-13 SCR catalysts has been extensively studied, yet atomic level understanding of changes to the zeolite support and the Cu active sites during hydrothermal aging are still lacking. In this work, via the utilization of spectroscopic methods including solid-state 27Al and 29Si NMR, EPR, DRIFTS, and XPS, together with imaging and elemental mapping using STEM, detailed kinetic analyses, and theoretical calculations with DFT, various Cu species, including two types of isolated active sites and CuOx clusters, were precisely quantified for samples hydrothermally aged under varying conditions. This quantification convincingly confirms the exceptional hydrothermal stability of isolated Cu2+-2Z sites, and the gradual conversion of [Cu(OH)]+-Z to CuOx clusters with increasing aging severity. This stability difference is rationalized from the hydrolysis activation barrier difference between the two isolated sites via DFT. Discussions are provided on the nature of the CuOx clusters, and their possible detrimental roles on catalyst stability. Finally, a few rational design principles for Cu/SSZ-13 are derived rigorously from the atomic-level understanding of this catalyst obtained here. The authors gratefully acknowledge the US Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office for the support of this work. Computing time was granted by a user proposal at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and by the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). The experimental studies described in this paper were performed in the EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is operated for the US DOE by Battelle.

Novel inhibitors to Taenia solium Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase identified by virtual screening

Science.gov (United States)

García-Gutiérrez, P.; Landa-Piedra, A.; Rodríguez-Romero, A.; Parra-Unda, R.; Rojo-Domínguez, A.

2011-12-01

We describe in this work a successful virtual screening and experimental testing aimed to the identification of novel inhibitors of superoxide dismutase of the worm Taenia solium ( TsCu/Zn-SOD), a human parasite. Conformers from LeadQuest® database of drug-like compounds were selected and then docked on the surface of TsCu/Zn-SOD. Results were screened looking for ligand contacts with receptor side-chains not conserved in the human homologue, with a subsequent development of a score optimization by a set of energy minimization steps, aimed to identify lead compounds for in vitro experiments. Six out of fifty experimentally tested compounds showed μM inhibitory activity toward TsCu/Zn-SOD. Two of them showed species selectivity since did not inhibit the homologous human enzyme when assayed in vitro.

Uptake and adherence of a self-directed internet-based mental health intervention with tailored e-mail reminders in senior high schools in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillevoll, Kjersti R; Vangberg, Hans Christian B; Griffiths, Kathleen M; Waterloo, Knut; Eisemann, Martin R

2014-01-21

Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) is a promising approach to the prevention and reduction of depressive symptoms among adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of disseminating a self-directed internet-based mental health intervention (MoodGYM) in senior high schools. It also sought to investigate possible effects of tailored and weekly e-mail reminders on initial uptake and adherence to the intervention. A baseline survey was conducted in four senior high schools in two Norwegian municipalities (n = 1337). 52.8% (707/1337) of the students consented to further participation in the trial and were randomly allocated to one of three MoodGYM intervention groups (tailored weekly e-mail reminder (n = 175), standardized weekly e-mail reminder (n = 176 ) or no e-mail reminder (n = 175)) or a waitlist control group (n = 180). We tested for effects of the intervention on depression and self-esteem using multivariate analysis of variance, effects of tailored e-mail and self-reported current need of help on initial uptake of the intervention using logistic regression and the effect of weekly e-mails on adherence using ordinal regression. There was substantial non-participation from the intervention, with only 8.5% (45/527) participants logging on to MoodGYM, and few proceeding beyond the first part of the programme. No significant effect on depression or self-esteem was found among the sample as a whole or among participants with elevated depression scores at baseline. Having a higher average grade in senior high school predicted initial uptake of the intervention, but tailored e-mail and self-reported current need of help did not. Weekly e-mail prompts did not predict adherence. The main reasons for non-use reported were lack of time/forgetting about it and doubt about the usefulness of the program. Overall, disseminating a self-directed internet-based intervention to a school population proved difficult despite steps taken to

A highly selective fluorescent chemosensor for Cu2+ : synthesis and properties of a rhodamine B-containing diarylethene.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Dandan; Zheng, Chunhong; Qu, Shengzu; Liao, Guanming; Fan, Congbin; Liu, Gang; Pu, Shouzhi

2017-06-01

A diarylethene bearing a triazole-linked rhodamine B unit was synthesized. Its fluorescent emission was significantly enhanced in the presence of protons or Cu 2 + due to transformation from the pirocyclic form to open-ring form. The fluorescence was quenched sequentially upon irradiation with 297 nm light based on the intramolecular fluorescence resonance energy transfer mechanism. In an acetonitrile: water binary solvent (1: 1 v/v), the compound showed significant fluorescent enhancement for Cu 2 + compared with a wide range of tested metal ions with a fast response and a limit of detection of 2.86 × 10 -8  mol L -1 . Using Cu 2 + and UV light as the chemical inputs, and fluorescence intensity at 597 nm as the output, a logic gate was developed at the molecular level. Moreover, the compound can be used with a high accuracy to detect Cu 2 + in a natural water sample. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Copper-adapted Suillus luteus, a symbiotic solution for pines colonizing Cu mine spoils.

Science.gov (United States)

Adriaensen, K; Vrålstad, T; Noben, J-P; Vangronsveld, J; Colpaert, J V

2005-11-01

Natural populations thriving in heavy-metal-contaminated ecosystems are often subjected to selective pressures for increased resistance to toxic metals. In the present study we describe a population of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Suillus luteus that colonized a toxic Cu mine spoil in Norway. We hypothesized that this population had developed adaptive Cu tolerance and was able to protect pine trees against Cu toxicity. We also tested for the existence of cotolerance to Cu and Zn in S. luteus. Isolates from Cu-polluted, Zn-polluted, and nonpolluted sites were grown in vitro on Cu- or Zn-supplemented medium. The Cu mine isolates exhibited high Cu tolerance, whereas the Zn-tolerant isolates were shown to be Cu sensitive, and vice versa. This indicates the evolution of metal-specific tolerance mechanisms is strongly triggered by the pollution in the local environment. Cotolerance does not occur in the S. luteus isolates studied. In a dose-response experiment, the Cu sensitivity of nonmycorrhizal Pinus sylvestris seedlings was compared to the sensitivity of mycorrhizal seedlings colonized either by a Cu-sensitive or Cu-tolerant S. luteus isolate. In nonmycorrhizal plants and plants colonized by the Cu-sensitive isolate, root growth and nutrient uptake were strongly inhibited under Cu stress conditions. In contrast, plants colonized by the Cu-tolerant isolate were hardly affected. The Cu-adapted S. luteus isolate provided excellent insurance against Cu toxicity in pine seedlings exposed to elevated Cu levels. Such a metal-adapted Suillus-Pinus combination might be suitable for large-scale land reclamation at phytotoxic metalliferous and industrial sites.

Stability of Cu-Precipitates in Al-Cu Alloys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torsten E. M. Staab

2018-06-01

Full Text Available We present first principle calculations on formation and binding energies for Cu and Zn as solute atoms forming small clusters up to nine atoms in Al-Cu and Al-Zn alloys. We employ a density-functional approach implemented using projector-augmented waves and plane wave expansions. We find that some structures, in which Cu atoms are closely packed on {100}-planes, turn out to be extraordinary stable. We compare the results with existing numerical or experimental data when possible. We find that Cu atoms precipitating in the form of two-dimensional platelets on {100}-planes in the fcc aluminum are more stable than three-dimensional structures consisting of the same number of Cu-atoms. The preference turns out to be opposite for Zn in Al. Both observations are in agreement with experimental observations.

Perceived Mortality and Perceived Morality: Perceptions of Value-Orientation Are More Likely When a Decision Is Preceded by a Mortality Reminder.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordmo, Mads; Norman, Elisabeth

2016-01-01

The questions addressed in this paper are whether and how reported mortality reminders can function as an indication of sincerity when communicating ambiguously motivated decisions. In two experiments, participants were exposed to a fictitious CEO who announced a decision to implement new organizational measures that were both environmentally and financially beneficial. In the experimental condition, the CEO attributed her new ideas to a recent mortality reminder. In the active control condition, the CEO attributed her decision to a non-lethal dentistry health scare, and in the passive control condition the CEO did not give any account of events preceding her decision. When a CEO implemented new corporate initiatives after a mortality reminder, her motivation for doing so was perceived as somewhat more motivated by intrinsic values, and significantly less motivated by financial gains. This change in attribution patterns was demonstrated to be indirectly related to a positive evaluation of the CEO, as well as an increased willingness to pay for the organization's services. The second experiment further demonstrated that the reduced attribution to financial motivation associated with mortality awareness persisted even when the CEO in question was known for placing a high personal priority on financial goal attainment. The findings underscore the importance of perceived value-oriented motivation when communicating climate change mitigating policies, and the role of mortality awareness as one of many ways to induce such attributions.

Written reminders increase vaccine coverage in Danish children - evaluation of a nationwide intervention using The Danish Vaccination Register, 2014 to 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Suppli, Camilla Hiul; Rasmussen, Mette; Valentiner-Branth, Palle; Mølbak, Kåre; Krause, Tyra Grove

2017-04-27

We evaluated a national intervention of sending written reminders to parents of children lacking childhood vaccinations, using the Danish Vaccination Register (DDV). The intervention cohort included the full birth cohort of 124,189 children born in Denmark who reached the age of 2 and 6.5 years from 15 May 2014 to 14 May 2015. The reference cohort comprised 124,427 children who reached the age of 2 and 6.5 years from 15 May 2013 to 14 May 2014. Vaccination coverage was higher in the intervention cohort at 2.5 and 7 years of age. The differences were most pronounced for the second dose of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR2) and the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-polio vaccine DTaP-IPV4 among the 7-year-olds, with 5.0 percentage points (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.5-5.4) and 6.4 percentage points (95% CI: 6.0-6.9), respectively. Among the 2.5 and 7-year-olds, the proportion of vaccinations in the preceding 6 months was 46% and three times higher, respectively, in the intervention cohort than the reference cohort. This study indicates a marked effect of personalised written reminders, highest for the vaccines given later in the schedule in the older cohort. In addition, the reminders increased awareness about correct registration of vaccinations in DDV. This article is copyright of The Authors, 2017.

A coumarin-derived Cu2 +-fluorescent chemosensor and its direct application in aqueous media

Science.gov (United States)

Mergu, Naveen; Kim, Myeongjin; Son, Young-A.

2018-01-01

A novel coumarin-based receptor bearing a benzohydrazide (FCBH) was developed as a fluorescent chemosensor with high selectivity toward Cu2 +. The sensor was successfully applied to the monitoring of Cu2 + in aqueous solution. After the addition of Cu2 + to FCBH, the color of the solution changed from greenish-yellow to red, and the absorption band at 457 nm red-shifted to 517 nm. The fluorescent green color of FCBH disappeared and the fluorescence emission was completely quenched in the presence of Cu2 +. Upon the addition of Cu2 +, deprotonation of FCBH occurred, and a 1:1 metal-ligand complex formed. DFT theoretical investigation was carried out to understand the behavior of the sensing probe toward Cu2 +. Additionally, the quenched fluorescence of the FCBH-Cu2 + complex was restored upon the addition of CN- ions. The possible sensing mechanism of FCBH toward Cu2 + was derived from experimental and theoretical examinations.

Catalytic properties of pure and K{sup +}-doped Cu O/Mg O system towards 2-propanol conversion

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