Photocatalysis Meets Piezoelectricity in a Type-I Oxygen Vacancy-Rich BaTiO3/BiOBr Heterojunction: Mechanism Insights from Characterizations to DFT Calculations.

It is a challenging task to design a piezoelectric photocatalyst with excellent performance under mechanical agitation instead of ultrasonic irradiation. Integrating vacancy defects into a heterojunction seems to be an effective strategy for synergistically increasing its piezo-photocatalytic performance. For this goal, a two-step hydrothermal method was adopted to architect a type-I oxygen-vacancy-rich BaTiO3/BiOBr heterojunction to surge the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under the combined action of simulated sunlight irradiation and mechanical agitation. Various instrumental techniques demonstrated the formation of a BaTiO3/BiOBr heterojunction with high crystallinity. The existence of surface oxygen vacancies was confirmed by XPS and EPR tests. PFM results manifested that this heterojunction had excellent piezoelectric properties, with a piezoelectric response value of 30.31 pm V-1. Comparative experiments indicated that RhB degradation efficiency under piezo-photocatalysis over this heterojunction largely exceeded the total sum of those under piezocatalysis and photocatalysis. h+, ·O2-, and 1O2 were the dominant reactive species for RhB degradation. The improved separation efficiency of photogenerated charges was verified by electrochemical measurements. DFT calculations indicated that the polarization of BaTiO3 could affect the electronic band structure of BiOBr. This work will provide comprehensive insights into piezo-photocatalytic mechanism at a microcosmic level and help to develop new-styled piezoelectric photocatalysts.

Effect of Modified Yangxintang on Chronic Pulmonary Heart Disease with Syndrome of Deficiency of Heart and Lung Qi / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To discuss the effect of modified Yangxintang on chronic pulmonary heart disease (CPHD) with syndrome of deficiency of heart and lung Qi and progress of disease. Method:One hundred and twenty-eight patients were randomly divided into control group 64 cases and observation group 64 cases by random number table. Patients in control group got comprehensive rehabilitation measures of western medicine. Those who had respiratory distress got Salmeterol ticasone powder inhaler, 1-2 times/day, 1 inhale/time.And those who had cough and phlegm got Ambroxol hydrochloride tablets for 1-2 week, 1-2 tablet/time, 3 times/day. In addition to the therapy of control group, patients in observation group was also added with modified Yangxintang, 1 dose/day, 5 days/week. Record the and times of acute aggravate and cold, pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO) were recorded during 48 weeks. Before and after treatment, scores of modified British medical research council respiratory questionnaire (mMRC questionnaire), Minnesota Heart Failure Quality of life scale (MLHFQ), syndrome of deficiency of heart and lung Qi and 6-minute walking test (6 MWT) were scored. And levels of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), endothelin (ET-1), CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+ were detected. Result:The clinical efficacy in observation group was better than that in control group (Z=2.108, P<0.05). During 48 weeks of observation period, times of acute aggravate and cold in observation group were less than those in control group (P<0.01). Levels of PASP, MPAP and NT-proBNP were lower than those in control group (P<0.01). And levels of LVEF, SV, CO, 6 MWT and NO were higher than those in control group (P<0.01), levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ were higher than those in control group (P<0.05). And levels of mMRC, MLHFQ, score of syndrome of deficiency of heart and lung Qi, TNF-α , IL-6, ET-1, CD8+ and were all lower than those in control group (P<0.01, P<0.05). Conclusion:In addition to anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic and anti-tussive therapies, modified Yangxintang can improve the immune function, relieve the symptoms of heart and lung, improve the function of heart and lung and the quality of life, inhibit the inflammatory reaction, improve the function of vascular endothelium, reduce the pulmonary hypertension, control the progress of disease.

Synergic Effect between Adsorption and Photocatalysis of Metal-Free g-C3N4 Derived from Different Precursors.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) used in this work was obtained by heating dicyandiamide and melamine, respectively, at different temperatures. The differences of g-C3N4 derived from different precursors in phase composition, functional group, surface morphology, microstructure, surface property, band gap and specific surface area were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible diffuse reflection spectroscopy and BET surface area analyzer, respectively. The photocatalytic discoloration of an active cationic dye, Methylene Blue (MB) under visible-light irradiation indicated that g-C3N4 derived from melamine at 500°C (CN-M500) had higher adsorption capacity and better photocatalytic activity than that from dicyandiamide at 500°C (CN-D500), which was attributed to the larger surface area of CN-M500. MB discoloration ratio over CN-M500 was affected by initial MB concentration and photocatalyst dosage. After 120 min reaction time, the blue color of MB solution disappeared completely. Subsequently, based on the measurement of the surface Zeta potentials of CN-M500 at different pHs, an active anionic dye, Methyl Orange (MO) was selected as the contrastive target pollutant with MB to reveal the synergic effect between adsorption and photocatalysis. Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism was discussed.

Relations between alcoholism and osteoporosis or femoral head necrosis / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To explore the relationship of alcoholism between osteoporosis or femoral head necrosis.Methods In this case-control study,we selected 95 eligible patients with femoral head necrosis and another 67 cases of osteoporosis as case group,together with 342 patients of fractures from the Second Hospital affiliated to Shanxi Medical College,from February to December 2010,as the control group.Questionnaire was used to collect general information of the patients.Through comparative analysis,related factors of femoral head,osteoporosis were defined.18 patients with alcoholic femoral head necrosis,11 patients with alcoholic osteoporosis and 20 patients with fractures were selected from the above said three groups and going through the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) as well as the Alcohol Use Disorders Scale (ADS).Using SPSS 13.0 conducted one-way ANOVA (analysis of variance),chi-square test,categorical logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.Results Results from logistic regression analysis showed that the adjusted odds ratio of those subjects who liked drinking alcohol had an incidence of femoral head necrosis or osteoporosis as 7.70 (95％ CI:1.84,32.30) and 8.44 (95％ CI:1.70,41.90),respectively.The risks of using hormone for treating femoral head necrosis or osteoporosis were 78.43 (95％CI:11.20,149.05) and 22.75 (95％CI:2.59,100.27) times than those without.Data from the AUDIT showed that:over-dose of alcohol drinking habit existed 100％ in the femoral head necrosis group while 54.45％ in the osteoporosis group,while 75 percent patients in the fractures group had normal alcohol drinking habit.Statistically significant differences appeared in the three groups (P＜0.01).Results from the ADS showed that there were statistically significant differences between the ADS scores of the three groups (F=3.68,P=0.03).Conclusion Alcohol intake did seem to be highly correlated with the incidence rates of femoral head necrosis or osteoporosis.Alcohol-related necrosis could be viewed as alcohol-dependent diseases while alcohol-related and osteoporosis could partially be recognized as alcohol-dependent disease.

[Operative treatment of complicated distal femoral fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To explore an effective way for treating severe complicated distal femoral fractures. METHODS: Twenty-six patients with complicated distal femoral fracture who all belonged to 33C3.3 type according to AO/ASIF classification, were treated with a lateral condylar buttress plate or self-designed aliform anatomical plate, and operated on with allogeneic bone grafting. RESULTS: All cases were followed up for an average of 14 months (ranging 5-25 months). Twenty-four wounds were primary healing postoperatively, 2 wounds were infected and healed after dressing change. Twenty-four had bone healing after 4-11 months, 2 needed to operate again because of earlier weight-bearing resulting in fixation failure. According to shelbourne and Brueckmann score, the excellent and good rate was 88.46%. CONCLUSION: The internal fixation for complicated distal femoral fracture by self-designed aliform anatomical plate and lateral condylar buttress plate with a great deal of allograft bone is an effective surgical method. As it has long oval holes and the holes are consecutive, the aliform anatomical plate is more suitable for severe complicated fractures. At the same time, autogenous-ilium transplantation can be substituted by the allograft bone.