Characteristics of incineration ash for sustainable treatment and reutilization.

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) generates bottom ash, fly ash (FA), and air pollution control (APC) residues as by-products. FA and APC residues are considered hazardous due to the presence of soluble salts and a high concentration of heavy metals, and they should be appropriately treated before disposal. Physicochemical characterization using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) have shown that FA and APC have potential for reuse after treatment as these contain CaO, SiO2, and Al2O3. Studies conducted on treatment of FA and APC are categorized into three groups: (i) separation processes, (ii) solidification/stabilization (S/S) processes, and (iii) thermal processes. Separation processes such as washing, leaching, and electrochemical treatment improve the quality and homogeneity of the ash. S/S processes such as chemical stabilization, accelerate carbonation, and cement solidification modify hazardous species into less toxic constituents. Thermal processes such as sintering, vitrification, and melting are effective at reducing volume and producing a more stable product. In this review paper, the treatment processes are analyzed in relation to ash characteristics. Issues concerning mixing FA and APC residues before treatment, true treatment costs, and challenges are also discussed to provide further insights on the implications and possibilities of utilizing FA and APC as secondary materials.

Dandy-walker syndrome and microdeletions on chromosome 7 / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate genetic etiology of Dandy-Walker syndrome with array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eight fetuses with Dandy-Walker malformations but normal karyotypes by conventional cytogenetic technique were selected. DNA samples were extracted and hybridized with Affymetrix cytogenetic 2.7 M arrays by following the manufacturer's standard protocol. The data were analyzed by special software packages.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>By using array-CGH technique, common deletions and duplication on chromosome 7p21.3 were identified in three cases, within which were central nervous system disease associated genes NDUFA4 and PHF14.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Copy number variations (CNVs) of chromosome 7p21.3 region are associated with Dandy-Walker malformations which may be due to haploinsufficiency or overexpression of NDUFA4 and PHF14 genes.</p>

Analysis of Chinese women with primary ovarian insufficiency by high resolution array-comparative genomic hybridization / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is defined as a primary ovarian defect characterized by absent menarche (primary amenorrhea) or premature depletion of ovarian follicles before the age of 40 years. The etiology of primary ovarian insufficiency in human female patients is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential genetic causes in primary amenorrhea patients by high resolution array based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) analysis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Following the standard karyotyping analysis, genomic DNA from whole blood of 15 primary amenorrhea patients and 15 normal control women was hybridized with Affymetrix cytogenetic 2.7M arrays following the standard protocol. Copy number variations identified by array-CGH were confirmed by real time polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the 30 samples were negative by conventional karyotyping analysis. Microdeletions on chromosome 17q21.31-q21.32 with approximately 1.3 Mb were identified in four patients by high resolution array-CGH analysis. This included the female reproductive secretory pathway related factor N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) gene.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results of the present study suggest that there may be critical regions regulating primary ovarian insufficiency in women with a 17q21.31-q21.32 microdeletion. This effect might be due to the loss of function of the NSF gene/genes within the deleted region or to effects on contiguous genes.</p>

Thin-walled graphitic nanocages as a unique platform for amperometric glucose biosensor.

A thin-walled graphitic nanocages material with well-developed graphitic structure, large specific surface area and pronounced mesoporosity was synthesized and used to construct a sensing interface for an amperometric glucose biosensor, showing a high and reproducible sensitivity of 13.3 µA mM(-1) cm(-2), linear dynamic range of 0.02-6.2 mM, and fast response time of 5 s. It was successfully used to accurately detect glucose in human serum with effective discrimination to common interference species such as dopamine, ascorbic acid, acetaminophen, and uric acid.

Engineering inorganic hybrid nanoparticles: tuning combination fashions of gold, platinum, and iron oxide.

Multistep colloidal chemical routes were employed to synthesize Pt/Au, Pt/iron oxide (IO), and Au/Pt/IO hybrid nanoparticles (NPs). The starting templates, Pt NPs, were synthesized by controlling the decomposition kinetics of platinum acetylacetonate in oleylamine. The morphologies of binary metal Pt/Au hybrid NPs were modulated by controllable attachment of Au nanoscale domains to Pt templates. Similarly, Pt/IO and Au/Pt/IO hybrid NPs were fabricated by the controllable attachment of Fe to the Pt or Pt/Au template NPs. The noble metal domains of as-prepared hybrid NPs had face center cubic crystal structures and did not alloy, as verified by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectrometry. X-ray diffraction spectrometry study indicates that the IO domains in the as-prepared NPs have a spinel structure. UV-vis study of binary metal Pt/Au hybrid NPs revealed that they have a characteristic plasmon resonance around 525 nm, while dumbbell-like Au/Pt/IO NPs had a plasmon resonance around 600 nm. Furthermore, magnetism study of the binary Pt-IO NPs clearly indicated that the interfacial interactions between Pt and IO domains could result in a shift of the blocking temperature.

Direct observation and analysis of annealing-induced microstructure at interface and its effect on performance improvement of organic thin film transistors.

For the first time direct observation and analysis of microstructural variations of crystalline domains and grain boundaries at atomic scale in the buried interface of an organic semiconductor thin film of poly(2,6-bis(3-alkylthiophen-2-yl)dithieno[3,2- b;2',3'- d]thiophene) (PBTDT), a new synthesized solution-processed polymer is achieved for demonstrating a different network nanostructure of crystalline nanofibers at the interface from the outside surface of the film observed. It is also discovered that structural variations of crystalline domains and grain boundaries at an atomic scale caused by annealing, which include larger domains with enhanced crystallinity, reduced pi-pi stacking distance, reduced disorders in the grain boundaries, and small tilt-angle boundaries well explain the significant performance improvement of the PBTDT based organic thin film transistor (OTFT) after annealing. This work provides a highly resolutioned image on the microstructures at an organic semiconducting interface for deep scientific insights of the OTFT performance improvement through microstructure optimization.

Application of spectral karyotyping in diagnosis of complex chromosome aberration / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine the value of spectral karyotyping (SKY) to identify the complex chromosome aberration.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Four cases were selected that can not be identified by standard cytogenetic techniques. The chromosome specimens were detected by the routine SKY method, and the results were analyzed by the SKY View software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>By using SKY a case of complex chromosome rearrangements and two cases of chromosome duplication were identified. However it could not identify the chromosome inversion and the breakpoint of chromosome aberration.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>SKY may be a valuable tool in identification of complex chromosome translocation, rearrangement, minute aberration and unknown derivative chromosomes. Though SKY can not replace the standard cytogenetic techniques, but it will be the benefit supplementary.</p>