2,302 research outputs found
RIC-HSCT for MF/SS
No full textAdvanced-stage mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome (MF/SS) have a poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), particularly using a reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen, is a promising treatment for advanced-stage MF/SS. We performed RIC-HSCT in nine patients with advanced MF/SS. With a median follow-up period of 954days after HSCT, the estimated 3-year overall survival was 85.7% (95% confidence interval, 33.4-97.9%) with no non-relapse mortality. Five patients relapsed after RIC-HSCT; however, in four patients whose relapse was detected only from the skin, persistent complete response was achieved in one patient, and the disease was manageable in other three patients by the tapering of immunosuppressants and donor lymphocyte infusion, suggesting that graft-versus-lymphoma effect and "down-staging" effect from advanced stage to early stage by HSCT improve the prognosis of advanced-stage MF/SS. These results suggest that RIC-HSCT is an effective treatment for advanced MF/SS
Membrane based strategies for the pre-treatment of acid dye bath wastewaters
No full textThis paper, as part of a study carried out for the recovery of the acid dye bath wastewaters of a carpet manufactuting industry by membrane processes, describes the evaluation of alternative strategies for the pre-treatment of acid dye bath wastewaters. Dead-end microfiltration (MF) simulating sand filtration with MF media having pore sizes of 2.5. 1.0. 0.45 and 0.2 mu m and ultrafiltration (UF) with an UF membrane having a molecular weight cut off (MWCO) of 50,000 Da were tested in single and sequential stages in order to achieve the best treatment efficiency. Four alternative process trains were tested: single MF, sequential MF, single UF, and MF followed by UF. For both.MF and UF application of sequential filtration did not provide any significant benefit over single processes. In addition. chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal performance of all the alternative processes was similar where the highest removal was only 5%. On the other hand. color removals were much better: ranging front 15 to 100%. even with single ME Comparison of all the process alternatives revealed that. single MF (0.45 mu m). as the simplest process. is the most suitable pre-treatment method for the acid dye bath wastewaters
Preparation of mono-sized epoxy/MF microcapsulesin the appearance of polyvinyl alcohol as co-emulsifier
No full textFor epoxy microcapsules embedded in concrete as mechanic-triggered self-healing adhesive, globular shape with uniform size is the basic requirement to ensure the solid shell broken and the liquid core released at a designed stress. In this paper, monodispersed melamine\u96formaldehyde (MF) resin-walled epoxy E-51 microcapsules were successfully fabricated in an in situ polycondensation process, in which a certain amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution was added as coemulsifier to control the microcapsules\u92 shape and size. Detail investigation shows, with the cooperation of PVA, the microcapsule morphologies and size distribution were ease to be adjusted by the parameters such as emulsifying agents, agitation rate, pH value and acidification time
ACT Family Violence Intervention Program review
No full textThis paper reports on a review of the Australian Capital Territory’s Family Violence Intervention Program, which provides an interagency response to family violence matters.
The scope of the review was to analyse the program’s activities and outcomes using 2007–08 data provided by participating agencies, supported by in-depth interviews with key stakeholders including victims whose matters had been finalised in court. After the completion of this report, additional data from 2008–09 and 2009–10 was made available by some Family Violence Intervention Program (FVIP) participating agencies. Although not within the scope of this evaluation, these data pointed to some preliminary improvements in the FVIP
NF membrane fouling by aluminum and iron coagulant residuals after coagulation-MF pretreatment
No full textThe effects of coagulant residuals on fouling of a nanofiltration (NF) membrane were investigated. Experiments were carried out with a laboratory-scale microfiltration (MF)-NF setup and a pilot MF-NF plant. In the laboratory-scale experiments, NF feed water was pretreated with poly-aluminum chloride (PACl) or alum followed by MF. NF membrane permeability declined when the feed water contained residual aluminum at 18 μg/L or more, but not when it was lower than 9 μg/L. When pretreated with ferric chloride, no substantial decline of NF membrane permeability was observed: residual iron did not affect the permeability. When SiO2 was added to the water before the pretreatment with PACl, the NF membrane permeability declined at about double the speed. Thermodynamic calculations and elemental analysis of foulants recovered from the membranes indicated that the majority of inorganic foulants were compounds composed of aluminum, silicate, and possibly potassium. In the pilot plant, NF feed was pretreated by PACl. Transmembrane pressure for NF doubled over 4.5 months of operation. Although the aluminum concentration in the NF feed was not high (30 μg/L), analysis of membrane foulants revealed excessive accumulation of aluminum and silicate, also suggesting that aluminum residuals caused the membrane fouling by alumino-silicates or aluminum hydroxide
Litz wire loss performance and optimization for cryogenic windings
No full textLitz wires operating in a cryogenic environment can potentially improve both the efficiency and power density of electrical machines and passive components. However, due to the low resistivity and high magnetic fields, eddy-current losses may become significant in cryogenically cooled windings, especially in airgap winding arrangements or in the case of significant slot leakage fields, unless the litz wire parameters are carefully chosen. A framework for litz wire loss performance optimization and experimental characterisation at cryogenic temperatures is provided. An optimum operating temperature for minimum loss is derived based on analytical expressions, which highlights the role of litz wire parameters, current density and external field. The proximity loss model, used to calculate the optimum operating temperature, is validated experimentally. Two test rigs with different magnetic cores were designed and built. Copper and aluminium litz wires with a strand diameter down to 0.1 mm were tested in a liquid nitrogen bath with a uniform harmonic external magnetic field up to 0.5 T peak and a frequency up to 1 kHz. Measurements show good agreement with the theoretical results and confirm that the proposed model can be confidently used during the preliminary design of cryogenic windings
Return to work with chronic pain: employers' and employees' views
No full textThis conference papers given to the Society of Occupational Medicine's Annual Scientific Meeting discusses tensions and some possible ameliorating activities from our 2013 paper of the same name., published in their journal: Wainwright, E., Wainwright, D., Keogh, E. and Eccleston, C. Return to work with chronic pain: employers’ and employees’ views. Occupational Medicine 2013: doi:0.1093/occmed/kqt109. The conference homepage is here;http://www.som-asm.org.uk/Programme_SOM_ASM.aspAbstractBackgroundThe sickness certification and return to work (RTW) of people with chronic pain are important health and economic issues for employees, employers, taxpayers and the UK government. The ‘fit note’ and a national educational programme promoting RTW were introduced in 2010 to curb rising rates of sickness absence. AimsTo investigate employers’ and employees’ experiences of managing RTW when someone has taken sick leave for chronic pain, and to explore the perceived efficacy of the fit note.MethodsA qualitative study, comprising semi-structured interviews with employers who had managed sick leave cases and employees who had experienced sick leave for chronic pain. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and the data analysed using constructivist grounded theory principles.ResultsFive themes were elicited. Firstly, frequent enquiry after health status was seen as intrusive by some employees but part of good practice by employers and acknowledging this difference was useful. Secondly, being able to trust employees due to their performance track record was helpful for employers when dealing with complex chronic pain conditions. Thirdly, feeling valued increased employees’ motivation to return to work. Fourthly, guidelines about maintaining contact with absent employees were useful if used flexibly. Finally, both parties valued the fit note for its positive language, interrogative format and biomedical authority. ConclusionsThe fit note was perceived to be helpful if used in combination with other strategies for managing sick leave and RTW for people with chronic pain. These strategies may be applicable to other fluctuating, long-term conditions with medically unexplained elements. <br/
Probing into the properties of B4C reinforced nickel phosphorus-based nanocomposite coating
No full textNickel-based coatings are well known for their good corrosion resistance performance. However, these materials suffer from inferior mechanical properties that limit their wider application. This work investigates the synthesis, and performs an exhaustive characterization, of Ni-P-B4C nanocomposite coatings developed through conventional electrode -position using a modified Watts bath. The study examines the effect of an increase in the concentration of boron carbide nanoparticles (BCNPs) on the structural, morphological, topographical, mechanical and electrochemical properties of the nanocomposite coating. Vickers microhardness tester and nanoindentation technique were utilized to elucidate the role of BCNPs in modifying the mechanical response of nanocomposite coatings. Furthermore, corrosion resistance of the nanocomposite coatings was investigated through d.c potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Comparison of the properties of the developed coatings revealed the remarkable improvement in the properties of Ni-P-B4C nanocomposite coatings when compared to the bare mild steel substrate and the Ni-P coatings. The enhanced corrosion resistance and superior mechanical properties of Ni-P-B4C nanocomposite coatings make them attractive for many industries. Based upon the experimental findings, a possible mechanism for the synthesis and improved corrosion resistance of Ni-P-B4C nanocomposite coatings was also proposed. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V
Dataset for "AlN overgrowth of nano-pillar-patterned sapphire with different offcut angle by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy"
No full textThis dataset contains scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of nano-pillar-patterned sapphire created via Displacement Talbot Lithography and Inductively coupled plasma dry etching.Secondary electron images were captured using a Hitachi S-4300 scanning electron microscope (SEM). An accelerating voltage of 5 kV was used to collect the imagesDTL patternings have been performed on 2-inch sapphire wafers. A stack of two layers was spin-coated at 3000 rpm to obtain a ~ 270 nm bottom antireflective coating (BARC) (Wide 30W – Brewer Science) layer thickness, followed by either a layer of high-contrast positive resist (Dow® Ultra-i 123 diluted with Dow® EC11 solvent). A bake at 150°C of the BARC enables a wet-developable process and thus to create an undercut profile. DTL (PhableR 100, Eulitha) was then used to expose the resist with a coherent 375 nm light source with an energy density of 1 mW.cm-2 (Fig. 1a). A 1 μm pitch with 550 nm opening mask was employed which result in a Talbot length of 3.80 μm. A Gaussian velocity integration was applied and 8 Talbot lengths travel distance has been chosen to assure a homogeneous integration on several Talbot motifs. After a certain exposure time (which defines the exposure dose), the sample was baked for 1 min 30 sec at 120°C on a hot plate. The wafer was developed in MF-CD-26 for 180 to 240 sec (depending on the dose employed). The undercut profile created in the BARC after exposure and development was employed as a lift-off layer. 200 nm Ni layers were deposited via e-beam evaporation to produce metal masks in the circular opening at the surface of the wafer. Subsequent lift-off was achieved by soaking the wafer in MF-CD-26 developer. The wafers were cleaned in a 2 min reactive-ion etching (RIE) oxygen plasma to remove any BARC residue. Then, an ICP dry etch system was used to create nano-pillars in sapphire substrates. The experiments were performed with a Cl2/BCl3/Ar chemistry of 5/50/5 sccm, a temperature of 5°C, a pressure of 8 mTorr, 100 W RF power and 600 W ICP source power. Finally, the masks were etched away in aqua-regia solution (HCl:HNO3, 3:1)
Geometric phase induced by a cyclically evolving squeezed vacuum reservoir.
No full textWe propose a new way to generate an observable geometric phase by means of a completely incoherent phenomenon. We show how to imprint a geometric phase to a system by adiabatically manipulating the environment with which it interacts. As a specific scheme, we analyze a multilevel atom interacting with a broadband squeezed vacuum bosonic bath. As the squeezing parameters are smoothly changed in time along a closed loop, the ground state of the system acquires a geometric phase. We also propose a scheme to measure such a geometric phase by means of a suitable polarization detection
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