Methanogenic communities on the electrodes of bioelectrochemical reactors without membranes

Methane fermentation was successfully carried out in bioelectrochemical reactors without membranes under a working potential of − 0.6 or − 0.8 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and neutral pH conditions. The hydrogenotrophic methanogens that dominated on the anodic and cathodic electrodes differed from those found on the electrodes in the control reactors without electrochemical reactions.     

Patients' expectations of information provided at cancer hospitals in Japan

In order to survey patients' views on disease and treatment information that should be provided at hospitals, an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was distributed to patients at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in 1995. All eligible first-visit outpatients (97 persons), randomly selected revisit outpatients (99 persons; about one in ten refused), and all except six eligible inpatients in good condition at discharge (97 persons) responded. Out of 293 patients (115 males, 174 females and 4 unspecified), 74% answered that they wanted to be informed of their diagnosis irrespective of circumstances, 20% answered that they would want to be informed only in certain circumstances, and 2% did not want to be informed at all. There were no significant differences in response among the three sources of patients. Inpatients wanted more (81%) to be explained about recommended therapy than either first-visit outpatients (67%) or revisit outpatients (67%). The majority considered that about a 30-minute explanation was needed using pamphlet-like written materials or video. When asked what information was needed when choosing a cancer hospital, 71% specified information on the specialty of the hospital, 57% the content of the care provided, 23% the name and specialty of the doctors, 20% the waiting period before scheduled admission, 13% the average admission period, 11% the number of patients with the same disease, 10% the waiting time at the outpatient clinic, 6% the meal menu, and 4% the number of private wards. Forty-three percent wanted an information service covering all hospitals in the region through an information center. The results revealed that patients at this cancer hospital required information on their disease, treatment, and hospital specialty.     

Circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a possible tumor marker for metastasis in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is closely related to angiogenesis in various human cancers. However, little is known of its circulating levels in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We examined circulating VEGF levels in chronic liver disease to assess their clinical significance. Plasma VEGF concentrations were determined, by enzyme immunoassay, in patients with chronic hepatitis (CH; n = 36), liver cirrhosis (LC; n = 77), and HCC (n = 86) for a cross-sectional study. Plasma VEGF levels in healthy controls (n = 20) and CH, LC, and HCC patients were 17.7 +/- 5.4 (mean +/- SD), 30.6 +/- 22.8, 34.4 +/- 27.0, and 51.1 +/- 71.9 pg/ml, respectively. The levels were significantly elevated in the HCC group, compared with the control, CH, and LC groups. Plasma VEGF levels in stage I, II, III, IVA, and IVB HCC patients were 27.6 +/- 16.1, 26.5 +/- 13.7, 35.8 +/- 15.3, 45.4 +/- 39.4, and 103.1 +/- 123.2 pg/ml, respectively. The stage IVB patients with remote metastasis showed significantly marked elevation compared with the patients at the other stages. Platelet numbers were weakly correlated with plasma VEGF levels in the HCC group. Plasma VEGF level was highly elevated in patients with HCC, particularly those with metastatic disease. We consider that plasma VEGF is a possible tumor marker for metastasis of HCC. Circulating VEGF may be derived mainly from the large burden of tumor cells, and partly from platelets activated by the vascular invasion of HCC cells.     

Effects of humic substances on the pattern of oxidation products of pentachlorophenol induced by a biomimetic catalytic system using tetra(p-sulfophenyl)porphineiron(III) and KHSO5

In the presence of humic substances (HSs), the oxidative conversion of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was found to be efficiently catalyzed by tetra(p-sulfophenyl)porphineiron(III) (Fe(III)-TPPS) using KHSO5 as an oxygen donor. Ortho-tetrachloroquinone (o-TeCQ), 2-hydroxyl-nonachlorodiphenyl ether (2H-NCDE), 4-hydroxyl-nonachlorodiphenyl ether (4H-NCDE), and octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) were identified as the major byproducts of the reaction. Decreased amounts of these byproducts were produced in the presence of HS. In particular, the addition of HSs with a lower degree of humification resulted in a large decrease in the formation of dimers, such as 2H-NCDE, 4H-NCDE, and OCDD. More than 60% of the chlorine, which was released from PCP, was found in the HS fractions after the reaction. This suggests that chlorinated intermediates from PCP were incorporated into the HS. Pyrolysis-GC/MS and 13C NMR studies confirmed that the binding of the chlorinated intermediates was covalent in nature and that the intermediates were copolymerized with HS via oxidative coupling reactions. A Microtox test demonstrated that the toxicity of the HS fraction containing PCP-derived intermediates was much lower than that of the mixture of PCP and HS in the absence of a catalytic reaction.     

Interfacial properties of a direct bonded Nd-doped YVO4 and YVO4 single crystal

Laser crystal bonding of a neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd : YVO₄) and a non-doped yttrium orthovanadate (YVO₄) crystal as a cold finger has been demonstrated. Instead of a traditional chemical treatment, a newly developed dry etching process was applied to the preparation for contact of mechanically polished surfaces. In the subsequent heat treatment process, stable heating at 873 K was required to prevent precipitation at the bonded interface. The bonded interface of 3 mm×3 mm was investigated by optical scattering and wavefront distortion measurements. The scattering density around the bonded interface was less than 4.6×10⁶/cm³ and the wavefront distortion caused by the bonded region was assumed to be around 0.04 at 633 nm. Additional magnified inspection showed that atoms in the bonded region were well arranged with the same regularity as the bulk crystal. The diffusion coefficient of Nd³⁺ ions in the YVO₄ crystal was estimated at 2.3×10^–23 m²/s at 873 K.     

Effects of injection molding conditions on the electrical properties of polycarbonate/carbon nanotube nanocomposites

Polycarbonate/Carbon nanotube (PC/CNT) nanocomposites containing various CNT contents (0–5 wt%) were prepared by injection molding. The effects of CNT contents, injection speed (V) and injection temperature (T) on the electrical resistivity of the PC/CNT nanocomposites were investigated. It was found that the tensile strength of nanocomposites was enhanced slightly with increased CNT contents, and the tensile modulus was 29% greater after the 5 wt% CNT addition, but the brittle tendency became stronger. Aside from tensile properties, the electrical resistivity of the nanocomposites dropped 12 orders of magnitude after the 5 wt% CNT addition. Also, there was a tendency that the electrical resistivity was lower in the case of higher injection temperature and lower injection speed. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and the distribution of surface layer electrical resistivity, clearly showed a notable influence by surface layer microstructures on the electrical resistivity, and the injection conditions affected both the value of the maximum electrical resistivity and the position where it occurred. This study offers an alternative green and simple molding process to prepare conductive PC nanocomposites and to achieve the industrialization of PC/CNT nanocomposite products which can be used in electromagnetic shielding and anti‐static fields. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:3245–3255, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effects of crystal orientation on bendability of aluminum alloy sheet

We investigated the effects of crystal orientation on the bendability of aluminum alloy sheets by experiments using single crystal specimens and finite element analysis using a crystal plasticity model. In the experimental investigation, single crystal specimens having cube and Goss orientations were made from a coarse-grained Al-Mg-Si alloy sheet. The cube single crystal specimens have shown an excellent bendability regardless of the bending direction. Meanwhile, the bendability of the Goss single crystal specimens strongly depended on the bending direction. The finite element analysis results are remarkably consistent with the experimental results.     

Frequency memory based gradient descent bit flipping algorithm

An escape method for the local optima of the gradient descent bit‐flipping (GDBF) algorithm for decoding low‐density parity‐check codes is proposed. In the GDBF algorithm, a search point is likely to be trapped in a local optimum, which causes performance degradation of the algorithm. To address this issue, we introduce a list to store the frequency of visits to each local optimum and devise a strategy to increase the distance of a search point from a local optimum with respect to the frequency. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.