Adsorption of ibuprofen using waste coffee derived carbon architecture: Experimental, kinetic modeling, statistical and bio-inspired optimization.

Pharmaceuticals in water are a growing environmental concern, as they can harm aquatic life and human health. To address this issue, an adsorbent made from coffee waste that effectively removes ibuprofen (a common pharmaceutical pollutant) from wastewater was developed. The experimental adsorption phase was planned using a Design of Experiments approach with Box-Behnken strategy. The relation between the ibuprofen removal efficiency and various independent variables, including adsorbent weight (0.01-0.1 g) and pH (3-9), was evaluated via a regression model with 3-level and 4-factors using the Response surface methodology (RSM) . The optimal ibuprofen removal was achieved after 15 min using 0.1 g adsorbent at 32.4 °C and pH = 6.9. Moreover, the process was optimized using two powerful bio-inspired metaheuristics (Bacterial Foraging Optimization and Virus Optimization Algorithm). The adsorption kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamics of ibuprofen onto waste coffee-derived activated carbon were modeled at the identified optimal conditions. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms were implemented to investigate adsorption equilibrium, and thermodynamic parameters were also calculated. According to the Langmuir isotherm model, the adsorbent's maximum adsorption capacity was 350.00 mg g-1 at 35 °C. The findings revealed that the ibuprofen adsorption was well-matched with the Freundlich isotherm model, indicating multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous sites. The computed positive enthalpy value showed the endothermic nature of ibuprofen adsorption at the adsorbate interface.

Metal free benzothiadiazole-diketopyrrolopyrrole-based conjugated polymer/g-C3N4 photocatalyst for enhanced sterilization and degradation in visible to near-infrared region.

In recent years, photocatalytic technology has attracted wide attention in environmental treatment, exploring non-toxic and metal-free photocatalysts is imminent to meet sustainable development. However, semiconductors with wide spectral response are rarely studied and applied in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, a new narrow band-gap polymer PFBDT-DPP (P3) with wide absorption from 500 to 860 nm was synthesized and further constructed heterostructure with g-C3N4 for photocatalytic sterilization and degradation of organic pollutant Rhodamine B (RhB). The optimal antibacterial rate for Escherichia coli reached 99.8% after 190 min of light irradiation and for Staphylococcus aureus reached 96.8% after 120 min of irradiation, and the highest degradation efficiency of RhB by P3/g-C3N4 was 98.9% within 60 min light irradiation, while g-C3N4 displayed an unsatisfactory sterilization and photodegradation performance. This is mainly attributed to the broadened light absorption range and enhanced carrier separation efficiency of P3/g-C3N4. This work could provide a new strategy to fabricate metal-free photocatalysts with high utilization of sunlight and excellent photocatalytic performance.

Correlation between Serum Platelet Count and Cognitive Function in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The risk of cognitive impairment in patients with atrial fibrillation is significantly increased. Its occurrence may be related to blood hypercoagulable state and immune inflammatory reaction. Platelets can mediate immune inflammatory response, but there is no evidence about the relationship between platelet count and cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation. PURPOSE: To explore whether there is a certain correlation between platelet count and cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a single center in China, including 254 patients with atrial fibrillation. Cognitive function assessment and clinical and laboratory examinations were performed on all participants. After adjusting the related confounding factors, the relationship between platelet count and cognitive function was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 254 subjects with an average age of 59.71 ± 11.14 years were included. The average platelet count was 208.15 ± 68.30, and the average score of cognitive function was 19.29 ± 6.78. Result of fully adjusted binary logistic regression showed platelet count was negatively associated with the cognitive function score after adjusting confounders (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.000, 95%CI -0.01, 0.01). A nonlinear relationship was detected between platelet count and the cognitive function score, whose point was 230. The effect sizes and the confidence intervals of the left and right sides of the inflection point were 0.03 (0.01-0.05, P for nonlinearity = 0.011) and -0.03 (-0.05-0.00, P for nonlinearity = 0.023), respectively. CONCLUSION: Platelets have a nonlinear relationship with cognitive function in patients with atrial fibrillation. This finding suggests that, in patients with atrial fibrillation, platelets should be maintained at about 230.

Effects of compound probiotics and aflatoxin-degradation enzyme on alleviating aflatoxin-induced cytotoxicity in chicken embryo primary intestinal epithelium, liver and kidney cells.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most dangerous mycotoxins for humans and animals. This study aimed to investigate the effects of compound probiotics (CP), CP supernatant (CPS), AFB1-degradation enzyme (ADE) on chicken embryo primary intestinal epithelium, liver and kidney cell viabilities, and to determine the functions of CP + ADE (CPADE) or CPS + ADE (CPSADE) for alleviating cytotoxicity induced by AFB1. The results showed that AFB1 decreased cell viabilities in dose-dependent and time-dependent manners. The optimal AFB1 concentrations and reactive time for establishing cell damage models were 200 µg/L AFB1 and 12 h for intestinal epithelium cells, 40 µg/L and 12 h for liver and kidney cells. Cell viabilities reached 231.58% (p < 0.05) for intestinal epithelium cells with CP addition, 105.29% and 115.84% (p < 0.05) for kidney and liver cells with CPS additions. The further results showed that intestinal epithelium, liver and kidney cell viabilities were significantly decreased to 87.12%, 88.7% and 84.19% (p < 0.05) when the cells were exposed to AFB1; however, they were increased to 93.49% by CPADE addition, 102.33% and 94.71% by CPSADE additions (p < 0.05). The relative mRNA abundances of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, iNOS, NF-κB, NOD1 (except liver cell) and TLR2 in three kinds of primary cells were significantly down-regulated by CPADE or CPSADE addition, compared with single AFB1 group (p < 0.05), indicating that CPADE or CPSADE addition could alleviate cell cytotoxicity and inflammation induced by AFB1 exposure through suppressing the activations of NF-κB, iNOS, NOD1 and TLR2 pathways.

Psychological impact of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in health workers in China.

The first case of 2019-nCoV pneumonia infection occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, South China Seafood Market in December 2019. As a group with a high probability of infection, health workers are faced with a certain degree of psychological challenges in the process of facing the epidemic. This study attempts to evaluate the impact of 2019-nCoV outbreak on the psychological state of Chinese health workers and to explore the influencing factors. During the period from 31 January 2020 to 4 February 2020, the 'Questionnaire Star' electronic questionnaire system was used to collect data. The 2019-nCoV impact questionnaire and The Impact of Event Scale (IES) were used to check the psychological status of health workers in China. A total of 442 valid data were collected in this study. Seventy-four (16.7%) male and 368 (83.3%) female individuals participated in this study. The average score of high arousal dimension was 5.15 (s.d. = 4.71), and the median score was 4.0 (IQR 2.0, 7.0). The average score of IES was 15.26 (s.d. = 11.23), and the median score was 13.5 (IQR 7.0, 21.0). Multiple regression analysis showed that there were critical statistical differences in high arousal scores among different gender groups (male 3.0 vs. female 5.0, P = 0.075). Whether being quarantined had significant statistical differences of IES scores (being quarantined 16.0 vs. not being quarantined 13.0, P = 0.021). The overall impact of the 2019-nCoV outbreak on health workers is at a mild level. Chinese health workers have good psychological coping ability in the face of public health emergencies.

Effect of light-delignification on mechanical, hydrophobic, and thermal properties of high-strength molded fiber materials.

This study developed a high-strength molded fiber material (HMFM) using pulp fibers, which could be a good substitute for plastic and solid wood materials. The surface composition, microstructure and thermal properties of HMFM were investigated by XPS, SEM and DSC, respectively. The SEM observations showed that the obvious adhesive substances and agglomeration appeared among fibers, and the inter-fiber contact area and binding tightness increased after the light-delignification. The XPS examination showed that the oxygen-rich composition on the outer surface of HMFM were reduced, and the outer surface coverage of lignin increased from 70.05% to 90.15% after the light-delignification. The DSC observation showed that the thermal stability of HMFM decreased, the temperature for the maximum rate of mass loss decreased from 370 °C to 345.6 °C, and the enthalpy value required for decomposition was reduced from 110.8 J/g to 68.0 J/g after the light-delignification. The mechanical and hydrophobic properties of HMFM were obviously improved after the light-delignification. When the content of lignin decreased from 24.9% to 11.45%, the density of HMFM increased by 6.0%, the tensile strength increased by 22.0%, the bending strength increased by 23.9%, and the water contact angle increased from 64.3°-72.7° to 80.8°-84.3°.

Association of circulating high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with late recurrence after ischemic stroke.

We investigated the association between serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and stroke recurrence events in a cohort of patients with acute ischemic stroke (IS). We prospectively studied 286 patients with acute IS who were admitted within 24 h after the onset of symptoms. Serum levels of hs-CRP, and National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) were measured at admission. The primary endpoint was stroke recurrence 1 year after stroke onset. We used logistic regression models to assess the relationship between hs-CRP levels and the risk of recurrent stroke. In multivariable models, hs-CRP levels were associated with an increased risk of an NIHSS greater than 6 [odds ratio=1.17; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.05-1.48; P=0.021]. Among the participants, stroke recurrence was found in 48 (16.8%) cases. In multivariate analyses, the third and fourth quartiles of hs-CRP were significantly associated with stroke recurrence during the observation period compared with the first quartile group (P<0.01). In addition, the hs-CRP level in the highest quartile was associated with a higher risk of stroke recurrence (odds ratio=2.75; 95% CI=1.62-3.92; P=0.006). Hs-CRP (area under the curve=0.71; 95% CI=0.64-0.79) improved the ability of the NIHSS score to diagnose stroke recurrence (area under the curve of the combined model 0.78; 95% CI=0.73-0.84; P<0.01). Serum levels of hs-CRP at admission predicted the future stroke recurrence in patients with IS.

[Amplitude Changes of Low Frequency Fluctuation in Brain Spontaneous Nervous Activities Induced by Needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel].

OBJECTIVE: To observe amplitude changes of low frequency fluctuation in brain spontaneous nervous activities induced by needling at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel, and to preliminarily explore the possible brain function network of Hand Taiyin Lung Channel. METHODS: By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 healthy volunteers underwent resting-state scanning (R1) and scanning with retained acupuncture at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel (acupuncture, AP). Data of fMRI collected were statistically calculated using amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF). RESULTS: Under R1 significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left medial frontal gyrus. Under AP significantly enhanced ALFF occurred in right precuneus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, and so on. Compared with R1, needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly enhance ALFF in right gyrus subcallosum and right inferior frontal gyrus. Significant decreased ALFF appeared in right postcentral gyrus, left precuneus, left superior temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and so on. CONCLUSION: Needing at Hand Taiyin Lung Channel could significantly change fixed activities of cerebral cortex, especially in right subcallosal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus, and so on.