ALBERT

Description: Plasmon-mediated shape conversion of spherical silver nanoparticles (NPs) to nanostructures with other shapes under the irradiation of green LEDs (520 ± 20 nm, 35 mw/cm2) at various temperatures (60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C) was performed in this study. It was found that the bath temperature used in the reaction can influence the reaction rates, i.e., the times needed for the shape transformation process were 5, 11.5, 25, 45, 72, and 100 h at 60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C, respectively. In addition, the bath temperature can also alter the morphologies of the final products. The major products are silver nanoplates at 60, 40 and 20 °C. However, they became decahedral silver NPs at 5 and 0 °C. The percentages of decahedral silver NPs synthesized at 60, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 0 °C are 0%, 1%, 5%, 45%, 73%, and 89%, respectively. Measuring the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) spectra of the probe molecule R6G in the presence of KBr showed that both silver nanoplate colloids synthesized at 60 °C and decahedral silver NP colloids synthesized at 0 °C in the absence of PVP had good SERS activities.

Description: Anode-supported cells are prepared by a sequence of hot pressing and co-sintering processes for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. Commercially available porous anode tape (NiO/YSZ = 50 wt %/50 wt %), anode tape (NiO/YSZ = 30 wt %/70 wt %), and YSZ are used as the anode substrate, anode functional layer, and electrolyte layer, respectively. After hot pressing, the stacked layers are then sintered at different temperatures (1250 °C, 1350 °C, 1400 °C and 1450 °C) for 5 h in air. Different compressive loads are applied during the sintering process. An (La,Sr)MnO3 (LSM) paste is coated on the post-sintered anode-supported electrolyte surface as the cathode, and sintered at different temperatures (1100 °C, 1150 °C, 1200 °C and 1250 °C) for 2 h in air to generate anode-supported cells with dimensions of 60 × 60 mm2 (active reaction area of 50 × 50 mm2). SEM is used to investigate the anode structure of the anode-supported cells. In addition, confocal laser scanning microscopy is used to investigate the roughness of the cathode surfaces. At sintering temperatures of 1400 °C and 1450 °C, there is significant grain growth in the anode. Furthermore, the surface of the cathode is smoother at a firing temperature of 1200 °C. It is also found that the optimal compressive load of 1742 Pa led to a flatness of 168 µm/6 cm and a deformation of 0.72%. The open circuit voltage and power density of the anode-supported cell at 750 °C were 1.0 V and 178 mW·cm−2, respectively.

Description: Fluorescent biosensors have been widely used in biomedical applications. To amplify the intensity of fluorescence signals, this study developed a novel structure for an evanescent wave fiber-optic biosensor by using a Fabry-Perot resonator structure. An excitation light was coupled into the optical fiber through a laser-drilled hole on the proximal end of the resonator. After entering the resonator, the excitation light was reflected back and forth inside the resonator, thereby amplifying the intensity of the light in the fiber. Subsequently, the light was used to excite the fluorescent molecules in the reactive region of the sensor. The experimental results showed that the biosensor signal was amplified eight-fold when the resonator reflector was formed using a 92% reflective coating. Furthermore, in a simulation, the biosensor signal could be amplified 20-fold by using a 99% reflector.

Description: Effects of reaction conditions on the production of alcohols (AOHs) and alkanes (Alk) from CO and H2, which can be obtained from the gasification of biomass, using a molybdenum sulfide (MoS2)-based catalyst of MoS2/γ-Al2O3 were studied. A high-pressure fixed packed bed (HPFPB) was employed to carry out the reaction. The results indicate that the conversion of CO (XCO) and specific production rates of alcohol (SPRAOH) and alkane (SPRAlk) are highly depended on temperature (T). In T = 423–573 K, maximum yield of alcohols (YAOH) and SPRAOH occur at T = 523 K. In the meantime, well performance gives the selectivity of ethanol (SEtOH) of 52.0 C%. For the studies on varying H2/CO mole ratio (MH/C) from 1 to 4 at 523 K, the appropriate MH/C to produce EtOH is 2, giving higher ratios of SPRAOH/SPRAlk and YAOH/YAlk than those with other MH/C. As for varying the total gas flow rates (QG) of 300, 450, 600 to 900 cm3 min−1 tested at T = 523 K and MH/C = 2, the lower QG provides longer reaction time (or gaseous retention time, tR) thus offering higher XCO, however lower productivity. For setting pressure (PST) = 225–540 psi, a supply of higher pressure is equivalent to providing a larger amount of reactants into the reaction system, this thus suggests the use of higher PST should give both higher XCO and productivity. The assessment of the above results indicates that the MoS2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst favors the production of alcohols over alkanes, especially for ethanol. The information obtained is useful for the proper utilization of biomass derived gases of CO and H2.

Description: Objective: The association between Kawasaki disease and autism has rarely been studied in Asian populations. By using a nationwide Taiwanese population-based claims database, we tested the hypothesis that Kawasaki disease may increase the risk of autism in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: Our study cohort consisted of patients who had received the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (ICD-9-CM: 446.1) between 1997 and 2005 (N = 563). For a comparison cohort, five age- and gender-matched control patients for every patient in the study cohort were selected using random sampling (N = 2,815). All subjects were tracked for 5 years from the date of cohort entry to identify whether they had developed autism (ICD-9-CM code 299.0) or not. Cox proportional hazard regressions were then performed to evaluate 5-year autism-free survival rates. Results: The main finding of this study was that patients with Kawasaki disease seem to not be at increased risk of developing autism. Of the total patients, four patients developed autism during the 5-year follow-up period, among whom two were Kawasaki disease patients and two were in the comparison cohort. Further, the adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) (AHR: 4.81; 95% confidence interval: 0.68–34.35; P = 0.117) did not show any statistical significance between the Kawasaki disease group and the control group during the 5-year follow-up. Conclusion: Our study indicated that patients with Kawasaki disease are not at increased risk of autism.

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1456: Esterification of Jatropha Oil with Isopropanol via Ultrasonic Irradiation Energies doi: 10.3390/en11061456 Authors: Chia-Chi Chang Syuan Teng Min-Hao Yuan Dar-Ren Ji Ching-Yuan Chang Yi-Hung Chen Je-Lueng Shie Chungfang Ho Sz-Ying Tian Cesar Augusto Andrade-Tacca Do Van Manh Min-Yi Tsai Mei-Chin Chang Yen-Hau Chen Michael Huang Bo-Liang Liu The reduction of high acid value (AV) of inedible jatropha oil (JO) by esterification with isopropanol (IPA), which is a common alcohol solvent waste in Taiwan’s high-tech industry, was studied. The decrease of AV is beneficial for the subsequent transesterification to produce JO biodiesel (i.e., biodiesel of fatty acid isopropyl ester (FAIE)). Acid catalyst (H2SO4) and a novel mixing/emulsion technique using ultrasound irradiation (UI) were applied to promote and facilitate the esterification process. The results showed that increased IPA/oil molar ratio (MIOE) can significantly reduce the AV, kinematic viscosity (KV), density (ρLO), and water content (MW) of esterified JO, while also providing the benefit of enhancing the yield (YF) of biodiesel of FAIE. For example, with MIOE = 5 at esterification temperature (TE) = 394.2 K (393.8–394.7 K), a reduction of AV of 99.25% with YF of 67.15% can be achieved. Free fatty acid (FFA) was reduced from 18.06 wt.% to 0.14 wt.%, indicating 17.92 wt.% out of 18.06 wt.% of FFA was esterified to FAIE. As a result, among the YF of 67.15%, 49.23% (= 67.15 wt.% deducting 17.92 wt.%) was contributed by the transesterification of triglycerides. By esterification of high FFA-containing raw JO with acid catalyst, one can not only avoid saponification, but also reduce the loading of the subsequent alkali-catalyzed transesterification. Moreover, increasing TE from 394.2 to 454.4 K further reduced AV (from 0.27 to 0.084 mg KOH/g) and MW (from 0.27 to 0.043 wt.%), but, on the other hand, it increased KV (from 14.62 to 25.2 mm2/s) and ρLO (from 901.6 to 913.3 kg/m3), while it decreased YF (from 67.15 to 25.84%). In sum, IPA was successfully used as a replacement for methanol in the esterification of JO while UI provided mixing/emulsion along with heating resulting from cavitation for the system.

Description: Past studies in humans have demonstrated horizontal and vertical bone loss after six months following tooth extraction. Many biomaterials have been developed to preserve bone volume after tooth extraction. Type I collagen serves as an excellent delivery system for growth factors and promotes angiogenesis. Calcium phosphate ceramics have also been investigated because their mineral chemistry resembles human bone. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of a novel bioresorbable purified fibrillar collagen and hydroxyapatite/β-tricalcium phosphate (HA/β-TCP) ceramic composite versus collagen alone and a bovine xenograft-collagen composite in beagles. Collagen plugs, bovine graft-collagen composite and HA/β-TCP-collagen composite were implanted into the left and right first, second and third mandibular premolars, and the fourth molar was left empty for natural healing. In total, 20 male beagle dogs were used, and quantitative and histological analyses of the extraction ridge was done. The smallest width reduction was 19.09% ± 8.81% with the HA/β-TCP-collagen composite at Week 8, accompanied by new bone formation at Weeks 4 and 8. The HA/β-TCP-collagen composite performed well, as a new osteoconductive and biomimetic composite biomaterial, for socket bone preservation after tooth extraction.

Description: Zirconium based metal organic frameworks (Zr-MOFs) have become popular in engineering studies due to their high mechanical stability, thermostability and chemical stability. In our work, by using a theoretical kinetic adsorption isotherm, we can exert MOFs to an acid dye adsorption process, experimentally exploring the adsorption of MOFs, their external behavior and internal mechanism. The results indicate their spontaneous and endothermic nature, and the maximum adsorption capacity of this material for acid orange 7 (AO7) could be up to 358 mg·g−1 at 318 K, estimated by the Langmuir isotherm model. This is ascribed to the presence of an open active metal site that significantly intensified the adsorption, by majorly increasing the interaction strength with the adsorbates. Additionally, the enhanced π delocalization and suitable pore size of UiO-66 gave rise to the highest host–guest interaction, which further improves both the adsorption capacity and separation selectivity at low concentrations. Furthermore, the stability of UiO-66 was actually verified for the first time, through comparing the structure of the samples before and after adsorption mainly by Powder X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetric analysis.

Description: The pulp industry in Taiwan discharges tons of wood waste and pulp sludge (i.e., wastewater-derived secondary sludge) per year. The mixture of these two bio-wastes, denoted as wood waste with pulp sludge (WPS), has been commonly converted to organic fertilizers for agriculture application or to soil conditioners. However, due to energy demand, the WPS can be utilized in a beneficial way to mitigate an energy shortage. This study elucidated the performance of applying torrefaction, a bio-waste to energy method, to transform the WPS into solid bio-fuel. Two batches of the tested WPS (i.e., WPS1 and WPS2) were generated from a virgin pulp factory in eastern Taiwan. The WPS1 and WPS2 samples contained a large amount of organics and had high heating values (HHV) on a dry-basis (HHD) of 18.30 and 15.72 MJ/kg, respectively, exhibiting a potential for their use as a solid bio-fuel. However, the wet WPS as received bears high water and volatile matter content and required de-watering, drying, and upgrading. After a 20 min torrefaction time (tT), the HHD of torrefied WPS1 (WPST1) can be enhanced to 27.49 MJ/kg at a torrefaction temperature (TT) of 573 K, while that of torrefied WPS2 (WPST2) increased to 19.74 MJ/kg at a TT of 593 K. The corresponding values of the energy densification ratio of torrefied solid bio-fuels of WPST1 and WPST2 can respectively rise to 1.50 and 1.25 times that of the raw bio-waste. The HHD of WPST1 of 27.49 MJ/kg is within the range of 24–35 MJ/kg for bituminous coal. In addition, the wet-basis HHV of WPST1 with an equilibrium moisture content of 5.91 wt % is 25.87 MJ/kg, which satisfies the Quality D coal specification of the Taiwan Power Co. requiring a value of above 20.92 MJ/kg.

Description: Background: Acinetobacter baumannii complex (A. baumannii) has been isolated worldwide. The rapid spread of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii complex (MDRAB) in clinical settings has made choosing an appropriate antibiotic to treat these infections and executing contact precautions difficult for clinicians. Although controlling the transmission of MDRAB is a high priority for institutions, there is little information about MDRAB control. Therefore, this study evaluated infection control measures for A. baumannii infections, clusters and outbreaks in the literature. Methods: We performed a review of OVID Medline (from 1980 to 2015), and analyzed the literature. Results: We propose that both infection control programs and antibiotic control programs are essential for control of MDRAB. The first, effective control of MDRAB infections, requires compliance with a series of infection control methods including strict environmental cleaning, effective sterilization of reusable medical equipment, concentration on proper hand hygiene practices, and use of contact precautions, together with appropriate administrative guidance. The second strategy, effective antibiotic control programs to decrease A. baumannii, is also of paramount importance. Conclusion: We believe that both infection control programs and antibiotics stewardship programs are essential for control of MDRAB infections.