A solar decontamination process for water was developed using T1O2 photocatalysts supported on silica-based material. The supported catalysts were systematically optimized with respect to catalyst type, catalyst dosage, silica-based support material, particle size, catalyst/ support bonding, and calcination temperature. The optimized supported catalysts outperformed an optimized slurry catalyst under identical operational conditions and had a reaction rate four times that of the slurry catalyst.Trichloroethylene (TCE) as a model compound was also used to investigate the impact of solar irradiance, influent concentration, pH value, and hydraulic loading. Supported photocatalysts displayed high light efficiencies over a wide range of weather conditions, an apparent quantum yield of 40% was obtained in a rainy late-afternoon experiment. The complete mineralization of TCE was achieved, and in addition, background natural organic matter (BNOM) in a local surface water did not interfere with the degradation significantly.

The first aminothiolation of 1,1-dibromoalkene is described using an inexpensive copper/N,N-dimethylethylenediamine catalyst. The method provides a powerful means of using easily available 1,1-dihaloalkenes as precursors to fused heterocycles.

Our study was targeted to investigate the relationship between postoperative leg length discrepancy (LLD) and the outcomes of total hip arthroplasty (THA) including gait, hip function, and lower back pain (LBP). Ninety-two patients who underwent primary THA during Jan 2009 to Apr 2011 in our medical center were enrolled in this study. We measured postoperative LLD of the patients both directly and from the leg radiographs. Six months after the surgery, we evaluated the hip function with Harris Hip Score (HHS), analyzed the gait, and recorded the degree of LBP. Patients with LLD between 10 and 20 mm were given the block footbeds to correct the difference in the leg length. Then 1 year after the surgery, the above-mentioned parameters were evaluated again. (1) LLD: Patients were divided into three groups according to the magnitude: less than 10 mm were grouped as A, those between 10 and 20 mm as B, and more than 20 mm as C. (2) Gait analysis: patients with larger LLD showed slower gait speed (t = 6.527; p < 0.01), longer single support time (t = -2.665; p = 0.01), and shorter foot-off time (t = -8.502; p < 0.01). After half a year of the surgery, Group B patients showed recovery and their functional performance was not significantly different from that of the patients in Group A (t = -0.686; p = 0.49). (3) HHS: In the first half of the follow-up year, patients with smaller LLD showed an improved function (t = 6.56; p < 0.01). At the end of year one, the HHS of Group B patients was not significantly different from that of Group A (t = 1.4; p = 0.16), suggesting a good recovery, however, Group C patients showed no improvement in HHS scores. (4) LBP: Initially, Group B patients suffered from more severe LBP than Group A patients, however, the examination conducted in the end of year 1 exhibited no difference in the LBP levels of the two groups (t = 0.683; p = 0.01, t = -0.85; p = 0.40). After THA surgery, the outcome was found to be significantly associated with the degree of different length of lower limbs. The use of block such as footbed could partly relieve the symptoms of hip dysfunction and LBP. However, the recovery was less significant in patients with leg length difference more than 20 mm.

BackgroundEmpathy between doctor and patient has an important bearing on patient health. The purpose of this study was to assess whether anxiety, sleep quality, and self-efficacy of patients have mediating effects in the relationship of patient-reported physician empathy and inflammatory factor in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients.Material/MethodsThis study included 242 patients attended by 45 doctors. Self-reported doctors’ empathy ability was measured at patient admission (T1), and patient-reported physician empathy was measured 3 months later (T2). Patient anxiety, general self-efficacy, sleep, and inflammatory factor (IL-6) were measured on T1 and T2. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between self-reported doctor empathy ability and patient indices on T1 and T2. The relationships between anxiety, sleep quality, self-efficacy, IL-6, and patient-reported physician empathy were measured by Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling.ResultsOn T1, no significant correlation was reported between self-reported doctors’ empathy ability and indices of the patients (P>0.05). On T2, self-reported doctors’ empathy ability was significantly positively correlated with patient sleep and self-efficacy (P<0.01), and significantly negatively correlated with patient anxiety and IL-6 (P<0.01). Moreover, on T2, patient-reported physician empathy was negatively correlated with anxiety and IL-6 and was positively correlated with self-efficacy and sleep quality. The effect of patient-reported physician empathy on IL-6 was mediated by anxiety, sleep quality, and self-efficacy.ConclusionsThe anxiety, self-efficacy, and sleep quality of UC patients had mediating effects in the relationship between patient-reported physician empathy and IL-6.