Zinc-iron silicate for heterogeneous catalytic ozonation of acrylic acid: efficiency and mechanism.

This research aimed at researching the degradation of acrylic acid (AA) in aqueous solution, by catalytic and non-catalytic ozonation processes performed in a semi-continuous reactor. Zinc-iron silicate was synthesized and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The characterization studies showed that Fe-Si binary oxide, Zn-Si binary oxide, ZnO and Fe2O3 deposits were formed on the surface of poor crystallinity zinc-iron silicate which contained abundant functional groups. Catalytic ozonation test results revealed that zinc-iron silicate exhibited high catalytic activity and stability in catalytic ozonation of AA in aqueous solution. The inclusion of zinc-iron silicate in the ozonation process enhanced AA decomposition by 28.7% and TOC removal by 20%, compared to the ozonation alone. The main AA removal mechanisms involved direct oxidation by ozone and indirect oxidation by hydroxyl radicals generated by the ozone chain reaction accelerated by zinc-iron silicate. The surface characteristics and chemical composition are significant factors determining the catalytic activity of zinc-iron silicate.

Baseline Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of the Patients Recruited to the China Registry of Hepatitis B.

Background and Aims: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major public health problem globally. Here, we describe the baseline characteristics and treatment profiles of HBV-infected patients recruited to the China Registry of Hepatitis B. Methods: Inclusion criteria were patients with different stages of chronic HBV infection and complete key data. Exclusion criteria were patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The baseline clinical, laboratory and treatment profiles were analyzed. Results: Finally, 40,431 patients were included. The median age was 43 years, with 65.2% being men and 51.3% being positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). The most common initial diagnosis was chronic hepatitis B (81.0%), followed by cirrhosis (9.3%), inactive carrier of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (6.7%), and immune tolerant phase of hepatitis B infection (3.0%). Among the 21,228 patients who were on treatment, 88.0%, 10.0% and 2.0% received nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs), interferon or combination of NAs and interferon, respectively. The proportion of patients who received preferred NAs (entecavir or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) had increased from 13.5% in 2003 to 79.7% in 2016. Conclusions: We concluded that middle-aged men accounted for most of the patients with chronic hepatitis B in this cross-sectional study. About half of the patients were HBeAg-positive. NAs were the most commonly used therapy, and use of the preferred NAs had steadily increased in the past decade.