Enhancing trace acrylamide analysis by bromine derivatization coupled with direct-immersion solid-phase microextraction in drinking water.

Acrylamide is a neurotoxic and genotoxic compound. It is abundant in drinking water because of the usage of polyacrylamide. Its high polarity and small molecular weight characteristics make it difficult to be extracted and analysed.

An Investigation of Pharmacists' Acceptance of NHI-PharmaCloud in Taiwan.

Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) is one of the most successful insurance programs in the world. The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) established the NHI-PharmaCloud as a platform to reduce medication duplication and other medication errors among the NHI-contracted facilities. The NHI-PharmaCloud can help pharmacists access patient medication information from the preceding 3 months to improve drug safety.

Lignocellulosic Biomass Transformations via Greener Oxidative Pretreatment Processes: Access to Energy and Value-Added Chemicals.

Anthropogenic climate change, principally induced by the large volume of carbon dioxide emission from the global economy driven by fossil fuels, has been observed and scientifically proven as a major threat to civilization. Meanwhile, fossil fuel depletion has been identified as a future challenge. Lignocellulosic biomass in the form of organic residues appears to be the most promising option as renewable feedstock for the generation of energy and platform chemicals.

Phthalate exposure promotes chemotherapeutic drug resistance in colon cancer cells.

Phthalates are widely used as plasticizers. Humans can be exposed to phthalates through ingestion, inhalation, or treatments that release di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and its metabolite, mono(2-ehylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), into the body from polyvinyl chloride-based medical devices. Phthalate exposure may induce reproductive toxicity, liver damage, and carcinogenesis in humans.

Magnetic Material Assessment of a Novel Ultra-High Step-Up Converter with Single Semiconductor Switch and Galvanic Isolation for Fuel-Cell Power System.

In this paper, a novel step-up converter is proposed, which has the particular features of single semiconductor switch, ultra-high conversion ratio, galvanic isolation, and easy control. Therefore, the proposed converter is suitable for the applications of fuel-cell power system. Coupled inductors and switched capacitors are incorporated in the converter to obtain an ultra-high voltage ratio that is much higher than that of a conventional high step-up converter.

Photo- and chemocatalytic oxidation of dyes in water.

Three commonly used dyes, Acid Red-114 (AR-114), Reactive Black-5 (RB-5), and Disperse Black EX-SF (DB-EX-SF), were treated in a pH-neutral liquid with ultraviolet (UV) light by two reactive methods: photocatalysis with titanium dioxide (TiO), and/or chemocatalysis with hydrogen peroxide (HO) as the oxidant and various ferrous-based electron mediators as catalysts. Important factors for dye oxidation were determined through bifactorial experiments. The optimum combinations and doses of the three key reagents, namely TiO, HO, and EDTA-Fe, were also determined.

Fuzzy logic-based mobile computing system for hand rehabilitation after neurological injury.

Background: Effective neurological rehabilitation requires long term assessment and treatment. The rapid progress of virtual reality-based assistive technologies and tele-rehabilitation has increased the potential for self-rehabilitation of various neurological injuries under clinical supervision.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a fuzzy inference mechanism for a smart mobile computing system designed to support in-home rehabilitation of patients with neurological injury in the hand by providing an objective means of self-assessment.

Continued use of an interactive computer game-based visual perception learning system in children with developmental delay.

This study developed an interactive computer game-based visual perception learning system for special education children with developmental delay. To investigate whether perceived interactivity affects continued use of the system, this study developed a theoretical model of the process in which learners decide whether to continue using an interactive computer game-based visual perception learning system. The technology acceptance model, which considers perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and perceived playfulness, was extended by integrating perceived interaction (i.

Degradation of acrylamide during chlorination as a precursor of haloacetonitriles and haloacetamides.

Acrylamide is a monomer of polyacrylamide, which is widely used in the water treatment process as a flocculant. The degradation kinetics and formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during acrylamide chlorination were investigated in this study. The reaction between chlorine and acrylamide followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics.

Degradation of acrylamide by the UV/chlorine advanced oxidation process.

The degradation of acrylamide (AA) during UV/chlorine advanced oxidation process (AOP) was investigated in this study. The degradation of AA was negligible during UV irradiation alone. However, AA could be effectively degraded and mineralized during UV/chlorination due to the generation of hydroxyl radicals (OH).

Disability benefits as an incentive for hysterectomy: Uterine fibroid patients in Taiwan.

Worker compensation insurance in Taiwan ensures that a woman under the age of 45 years who has her uterus removed can receive disability compensation benefits. The present study investigated whether such a compensation policy was related to a woman's inclination to have a hysterectomy. We extracted the records of 16,030 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids (UF) between 2000 and 2010 from the Longitudinal Taiwan Health Insurance Database.

Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths.

This investigation examines the extraction of metals from animal bones into broth, and assesses whether bone broths are good sources of essential metals and the risks associated with the consumption of toxic metals. Three sets of controlled experiments were performed to study the factors (cooking time, acidity, bone type and animal species) that influence metal extractions. Three types of animal bone broth-based foods were also tested.

In Vitro Laser Treatment Platform Construction with Dental Implant Thread Surface on Bacterial Adhesion for Peri-Implantitis.

This study constructs a standard in vitro laser treatment platform with dental implant thread surface on bacterial adhesion for peri-implantitis at different tooth positions. The standard clinical adult tooth jaw model was scanned to construct the digital model with 6 mm bone loss depth on behalf of serious peri-implantitis at the incisor, first premolar, and first molar. A cylindrical suite connected to the implant and each tooth root in the jaw model was designed as one experimental unit set to allow the suite to be replaced for individual bacterial adhesion.

Preparation and Application of Immobilized Surfactant-Modified PANi-CNT/TiO₂ under Visible-Light Irradiation.

Hydrothermally and sol-gel-synthesized immobilized surfactant-modified polyaniline-carbon nanotubes/TiO₂ (PANi-CNT/TiO₂) photocatalysts were prepared and their application in the degradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) under visible light at 410 nm was investigated in this sturdy. To improve the dispersion of nanoparticles and the transfer of electrons, the TiO₂ surface was modified with both sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT-COOH and CNT-COCl). With the addition of PANi, which was increased from 1%-5%, the adsorption edge of the prepared photocatalysts shifted to 442 nm.

Iodinated trihalomethane formation during chloramination of iodate-containing waters in the presence of zero valent iron.

Iodide (I) and iodinated X-ray contrast media (ICM) are the primary iodine sources for the formation of iodinated disinfection byproducts (I-DBPs), and iodate (IO) is believed to be a desired sink of iodine in water. This study found that highly cytotoxic iodinated trihalomethanes (I-THMs) also can be generated from iodate-containing waters (without any other iodine sources) in the presence of zero valent iron (ZVI) during chloramination, which could be a big issue in the wide usage of iron pipes. The effect of major factors including ZVI dosage, NHCl and IO concentrations, initial pH, Br/IO molar ratio, phosphate concentration, iron corrosion scales (goethite and hematite) on the formation of I-THMs were investigated.

The use of ultrasound-assisted anaerobic compost tea washing to remove poly-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzo-furans (PCDFs) from highly contaminated field soils.

The remediation of dioxin-contaminated soil of a specific coastal area previously employed for the manufacture of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in southern Taiwan's Tainan City has attracted much attention of researchers there. This work addresses the possibility of providing an effective and environmentally friendly option for removing PCDD/Fs from soil in that field. Soil screening/sieving was first conducted to assess particle distribution.

Chlor(am)ination of iopamidol: Kinetics, pathways and disinfection by-products formation.

The degradation kinetics, pathways and disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation of iopamidol by chlorine and chloramines were investigated in this paper. The chlorination kinetics can be well described by a second-order model. The apparent second-order rate constants of iopamidol chlorination significantly increased with solution pH.

Bioregeneration of spent mercury bearing sulfur-impregnated activated carbon adsorbent.

Among various adsorbents studied, sulfur-impregnated activated carbon is one of the most promising adsorbents for mercury removal from flue gas. However, a large amount of spent activated carbons containing high content of mercury are generated after adsorption. To make the adsorption a more viable option, the regeneration and reuse of the spent activated carbon should be considered.

Application of RuO/Ni foam electrodes for remediation of ibuprofen in soil matrix-the effect of electrokinetic parameters.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are an extraordinary and diverse group of chemicals used in veterinary medicine, agriculture, and for human health and cosmetics care. They are considered emerging contaminants and have raised great concern in recent years. Among the PPCPs, ibuprofen (IBP) is one of the most known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which has been found at a high concentration in irrigation water in the USA and showed harmful effect for organisms.

Surveillance of Vittaforma corneae in hot springs by a small-volume procedure.

Vittaforma corneae is an obligate intracellular fungus and can cause human ocular microsporidiosis. Although accumulating reports of V. corneae causing keratoconjunctivitis in both healthy and immunocompromised persons have been published, little is known about the organism's occurrence in aquatic environments.

Improved n-butanol production via co-expression of membrane-targeted tilapia metallothionein and the clostridial metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli.

Background: N-Butanol has favorable characteristics for use as either an alternative fuel or platform chemical. Bio-based n-butanol production using microbes is an emerging technology that requires further development. Although bio-industrial microbes such as Escherichia coli have been engineered to produce n-butanol, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated toxicity may limit productivity.

Effects of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate exposure on 1,2-dimethyhydrazine-induced colon tumor promotion in rats.

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) may cause carcinogenicity in the liver; however, few have detailed on the potential effects of DEHP exposure on colorectal cancer. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received i.p.

All-digital pulse-expansion-based CMOS digital-to-time converter.

This paper presents a new all-digital CMOS digital-to-time converter (DTC) based on pulse expansion. Pulse expansion is achieved using an all-digital pulse-mixing scheme that can effectively improve the timing resolution and enable the DTC to be concise. Without requiring the Vernier principle or a costly digital-to-analog converter, the DTC comprises a pulse generator for generating a pulse, a pulse-expanding circuit (PEC) for programming timing generation, and a time subtractor for removing the time width of the pulse.

Lithium recovery with LiTiO ion-sieves.

A feasibility study for the recovery of lithium from salt water with the protonated lithium titanium oxide ion-sieves was carried out in this work. Lithium ions (Li) in LiTiO having a similar ion density with H allow repeated exchanges and regeneration with high selectivity. By Li magic angle spinning solid-state magnetic resonance, it is apparent that chemical structure of lithium in the ion-sieves is not perturbed during the repeated Li/H exchange processes.

Resistance Band Exercises Reduce Depression and Behavioral Problems of Wheelchair-Bound Older Adults with Dementia: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: To test the effects of a 15-month wheelchair-bound resistance band exercise program on depression and behavioral problems of wheelchair-bound older adults with dementia.

Design: Single-blind, cluster-randomized controlled trial with repeated measures.

Setting: Eight nursing homes in southern Taiwan.