1-Meth-oxy-2-methyl-propan-2-aminium 2,2,2-trifluoro-acetate.

In the title salt, C(5)H(14)NO(+)·C(2)F(3)O(2) (-), the cation and anion are linked by N-H⋯O and O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, generating a three-dimensional network.

(Methyl-enedinitrilo)tetra-acetonitrile.

The mol-ecular structure of the title compound, C(9)H(10)N(6), exhibits four cyano-methyl groups around a central N-CH(2)-N unit. In the crystal structure, mol-ecules are connected via inter-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network.

Automatic delirium prediction system and nursing-sensitive outcomes in the medical intensive care unit.

In Korea, delirium risk screening has not been routinely implemented in intensive care units (ICUs). The purpose of this study was to implement an Automatic Prediction of Delirium in Intensive Care Units (APREDEL-ICU) system to investigate its impact on nursing-sensitive outcomes and to assess nurse satisfaction with the system. A pre-post research design was used. A total of 145 patients were involved prior to the system implementation and 172 were involved after implementation. Forty medical ICU nurses evaluated the system. The APREDEL-ICU system did not result in a reduction in the incidence of delirium. However, the nurses reported that their knowledge regarding delirium care increased after the system was introduced. The proposed system was successfully implemented without increasing the burden of nurses in their assessment of delirium risk. Long-term use of APREDEL-ICU could enhance preventive care and consequently result in positive patient outcomes.

Surface activated carbon nanospheres for fast adsorption of silver ions from aqueous solutions.

We report the synthesis and activation of colloidal carbon nanospheres (CNS) for adsorption of Ag(I) ions from aqueous solutions. CNS (400-500 nm in diameter) was synthesized via simple hydrothermal treatment of glucose solution. The surface of nonporous CNS after being activated by NaOH was enriched with -OH and -COO(-) functional groups. Despite the low surface area (<15m(2)/g), the activated CNS exhibited a high adsorption capacity of 152 mg silver/g. Under batch conditions, all Ag(I) ions can be completely adsorbed in less than 6 min with the initial Ag(I) concentrations lower than 2 ppm. This can be attributed to the minimum mass transfer resistance as Ag(I) ions were all deposited and reduced as Ag(0) nanoparticles on the external surface of CNS. The kinetic data can be well fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The adsorbed silver can be easily recovered by dilute acid solutions and the CNS can be reactivated by the same treatment with NaOH solution. The excellent adsorption performance and reusability have also been demonstrated in a continuous mode. The NaOH activated CNS reported here could represent a new type of low-cost and efficient adsorbent nanomaterials for removal of trace Ag(I) ions for drinking water production.

Hollow fiber membrane decorated with Ag/MWNTs: toward effective water disinfection and biofouling control.

The currently applied disinfection methods during water treatment provide effective solutions to kill pathogens, but also generate harmful byproducts, which are required to be treated with additional efforts. In this work, an alternative and safer water disinfection system consisting of silver nanoparticle/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Ag/MWNTs) coated on a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow fiber membrane, Ag/MWNTs/PAN, has been developed. Silver nanoparticles of controlled sizes were coated on polyethylene glycol-grafted MWNTs. Ag/MWNTs were then covalently coated on the external surface of a chemically modified PAN hollow fiber membrane to act as a disinfection barrier. A continuous filtration test using E. coli containing feedwater was conducted for the pristine PAN and Ag/MWNTs/PAN composite membranes. The Ag/MWNT coating significantly enhanced the antimicrobial activities and antifouling properties of the membrane against E. coli. Under the continuous filtration mode using E. coli feedwater, the relative flux drop over Ag/MWNTs/PAN was 6%, which was significantly lower than that over the pristine PAN (55%) at 20 h of filtration. The presence of the Ag/MWNT disinfection layer effectively inhibited the growth of bacteria in the filtration module and prevented the formation of biofilm on the surface of the membrane. Such distinctive antimicrobial properties of the composite membrane is attributed to the proper dispersion of silver nanoparticles on the external surface of the membrane, leading to direct contact with bacterium cells.