Defining Dry Eye from a Clinical Perspective

Over the past decades, the number of patients with dry eye disease (DED) has increased dramatically. The incidence of DED is higher in Asia than in Europe and North America, suggesting the involvement of cultural or racial factors in DED etiology. Although many definitions of DED have been used, discrepancies exist between the various definitions of dry eye disease (DED) used across the globe. This article presents a clinical consensus on the definition of DED, as formulated in four meetings with global DED experts. The proposed new definition is as follows: “Dry eye is a multifactorial disease characterized by a persistently unstable and/or deficient tear film (TF) causing discomfort and/or visual impairment, accompanied by variable degrees of ocular surface epitheliopathy, inflammation and neurosensory abnormalities.” The key criteria for the diagnosis of DED are unstable TF, inflammation, ocular discomfort and visual impairment. This definition also recommends the assessment of ocular surface epitheliopathy and neurosensory abnormalities in each patient with suspected DED. It is easily applicable in clinical practice and should help practitioners diagnose DED consistently. This consensus definition of DED should also help to guide research and clinical trials that, to date, have been hampered by the lack of an established surrogate endpoint.     

Prediction and sensitivity analysis of CNTs-modified asphalt’s adhesion force using a radial basis neural network model

Abstract

The expected longer service life of modified asphalt can be jeopardized by different environmental factors, such as moisture, oxidation, etc. which affect the desired properties by altering the adhesive property. An insight into knowledge of the adhesive property of the asphalt can help in providing more durable asphalt pavement. The study attempted to develop different models of adhesive properties of polymers and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modified asphalt binders. The polymer-CNT modified asphalt is processed to prepare different types of samples, by simulating the damage due to moisture and oxidization, following the corresponding standard method. An Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was employed to assess the nanoscale adhesion force of the tested samples following the existing functional group in asphalt. Finally, the study has developed Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) as a function of different parameters including; asphalt chemistry (i.e. AFM tip type and constant), type and percentages of polymers and CNTs and different environmental exposures (oxidation, moisture, etc.) to predict the nano adhesion force of asphalt. It is observed that the adhesive property of the Styrene–Butadiene modified asphalt is more consistent compared to the Styrene–Butadiene–Styrene modified asphalt, while the presence of Single-Wall Nanotubes (SWNT) is observed to affect the adhesive properties of asphalt significantly as compared to Multi-Wall Nanotubes (MWNT). The higher accuracy level of RBFNN model also indicates that the functional group (tip-type) adding with the percentages and types of polymers and CNTs significantly affect the adhesive properties of asphalt.     

Structural,magnetic, thermal and optical properties of Sn2+ cation doped magnetite nanoparticles

Tin doped nanomagnetites, Sn_xFe_3-xO₄, were synthesized with various concentrations of Sn²⁺ ion (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) by co-precipitation method. XRD, VSM, TG-DTA, SEM-EDX and UV–Vis were used to characterize and study the structural, magnetic, thermal, and optical properties of Sn_xFe_3-xO₄ nanoparticles. XRD confirmed the presence of cubic structure and spinel phase of tin doped magnetites. The d-spacing, lattice parameter, density, crystallite size and cation distribution were derived from the XRD analysis. The M − H curves exhibited changes in saturation magnetization (M_s), coercive field (H_c), remanent magnetization (M_r) and susceptibility (χ), with increasing concentration of non-magnetic Sn²⁺ ions. Differential thermal analysis was used to study the thermal stability of Sn_xFe_3-xO₄ nanoparticles. The SEM images revealed the surface morphology of the nanoparticles and the EDX spectra showed an increase in the Sn content and a corresponding decrease in the Fe content for the tin doped samples. The optical bandgap was found to be centered at 3.9 eV for the synthesized materials. This systematic study may be the first comprehensive report on synthesis and characterization of tin doped magnetites.     

Polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide -polyethylene oxide derived porous carbon materials with different molecular weights as ORR catalyst in alkaline electrolytes

Polyethylene oxide (PEO)-polypropylene oxide (PPO)-polyethylene oxide block copolymer having different molecular weights are used as precursors of carbon materials to prepare Hollow -Derivatives carbon material as an electrocatalyst through block copolymer self-assembly. The composition and microstructure of the prepared catalysts are shown by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Test of nitrogen adsorption and desorption curves, High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). Oxygen was passed into alkaline electrolyte solution until the solution reached saturation state. With molecular weight increasing, the obtained sample gradually changed from block to hollow and spherical. When the molecular weight was 12600 g mol^?1, the evenly hollow carbon nanocages was acquired (C-12600). In O₂ saturated alkaline electrolyte (0.1 M KOH solution), C-12600's limited current density，half-wave potential and initial potential are 5.23 mA cm^?2@0.4 V, 0.72 V and 0.81 V, respectively. And most important is that half-wave potential and onset potential have barely change after 2000 cycles of cyclic voltammetry. As a result, the porous carbon materials exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity while maintaining high stability in alkaline KOH solution.     

改性防护蜡对轮胎胎侧胶性能的影响

研究改性防护蜡对轮胎胎侧胶性能的影响。结果表明,与传统防护蜡相比,改性防护蜡异构烷烃质量分数较小,结晶尺寸小且致密程度高。改性防护蜡可在不影响胎侧胶硫化特性和物理性能的前提下,大幅提高胎侧胶抗喷霜性能,保证轮胎表面不受臭氧侵蚀,在防止裂纹产生的同时明显改善成品轮胎外观。     

Study of the synergistic effect of boron nitride and carbon nanotubes in the improvement of thermal conductivity of epoxy composites

The enhancement of the thermal conductivity, keeping the electrical insulation, of epoxy thermosets through the addition of pristine and oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and microplatelets of boron nitride (BN) was studied. Two different epoxy resins were selected: a cycloaliphatic (ECC) epoxy resin and a glycidylic (DGEBA) epoxy resin. The characteristics of the composites prepared were evaluated and compared in terms of thermal, thermomechanical, rheological and electrical properties. Two different dispersion methods were used in the addition of pristine and oxidized CNTs depending on the type of epoxy resin used. Slight changes in the kinetics of the curing reaction were observed in the presence of the fillers. The addition of pristine CNTs led to a greater enhancement of the mechanical properties of the ECC composite whereas the oxidized CNTs presented a greater effect in the DGEBA matrix. The addition of CNTs alone led to a marked decrease of the electrical resistivity of the composites. Nevertheless, in the presence of BN, which is an electrically insulating material, it was possible to increase the proportion of pristine CNTs to 0.25 wt% in the formulation without deterioration of the electrical resistivity. A small but significant synergic effect was determined when both fillers were added together. Improvements of about 750% and 400% in thermal conductivity were obtained in comparison to the neat epoxy matrix for the ECC and DGEBA composites, respectively. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

不同含量低污染水对人工湿地中细菌的影响研究

探究水平流人工湿地(HFCW)系统处理低污染水过程中,相同COD/ρ(TN)下不同碳氮含量对细菌群落结构的影响。结果表明,进水为较高碳氮含量的HFCW(HF1)和进水为较低碳氮含量的HFCW(HF2)对COD和TN的去除效率具有一定的差异,HF1和HF2对COD的去除效率分别为48.26%和28.89%,对TN的去除率分别为79.06%和81.87%。HF1中细菌的丰富度和多样性均高于HF2,HF1中富集的优势细菌为Chloroflexaceae、Comamonadaceae和Rhodocyclaceae,均具有异养反硝化功能,HF2中富集的优势细菌为Xanthomonadaceae和Rhodocyclaceae,其中Xanthomonadaceae具有自养反硝化功能。COD、NH4^+-N和NO3^--N对HF1中细菌群落的影响大于对HF2中细菌群落的影响,HF1中COD对细菌群落的影响大于NH4^+-N和NO3^--N。     

废菌渣活性炭的制备及对废水中硝基苯的吸附

以废菌渣为原料制备活性炭，采用能量-色散光谱（EDS）和傅里叶变换红外光谱仪（FTIR）进行表征，结果表明：活性炭表面具有多种官能团，有利于提高对硝基苯的吸附。并研究了活性炭吸附硝基苯的影响因素（pH、初始浓度、吸附时间、投加量）、吸附等温线及热力学。结果表明：在常温中性pH条件下，初始浓度为50mg/L，活性炭用量为0.15g时硝基苯去除率可达98%，出水水质满足《污水综合排放标准》（GB 8978－1996）中对硝基苯浓度低于2.0mg/L的要求。活性炭对硝基苯的吸附具有较快的吸附速率，即1min接近平衡。该吸附行为是自发放热反应，可以用Freundlich模型很好地拟合。废菌渣活性炭对硝基苯的吸附主要是疏水作用和氧化钼活化共同作用的结果。因此，以农业废弃物-废菌渣制备得到的废菌渣活性炭具有良好的经济实用性，可用于废水处理中，实现以废治废的目的。