Influence of molecular shape on the retention of small molecules by solvent resistant nanofiltration (SRNF) membranes : A suitable molecular size parameter
- Authors: Zheng, Fengchun , Li, Chunxi , Yuan, Qipeng , Vriesekoop, Frank
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Membrane Science Vol. 318, no. 1-2 (2008), p. 114-122
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- Description: Retention data for a series of small, neutral solutes in methanol are measured through three different solvent resistant membranes. The neutral solutes include linear alkyl acetates, branched alkyl acetates, and cyclohexyl acetates with molecular weight ranging from 116 to 228 g mol-1. For those solutes with approximately the same MW but different molecular size, all three membranes show preferential transport of straight-chained solutes over cyclic solutes, while the branched solutes revealed the lowest permeability. In order to correlate the retention with the molecule size or shape of the solutes, six traditional molecular size descriptors (MW, the Stokes diameter, the equivalent molar diameter, the empirical effective diameter, molecular length and radius of gyration) were compared to a new molecular shape descriptor, the "calculated mean size". A strong correlation between molecular shape and solute retention across a range of membranes was only found with the calculated mean size of the various solutes, which was calculated on the basis of three-dimensional molecular projection. In addition, one-parameter and two-parameter regression analyses were performed, which justified the calculated mean size as a suitable model parameter for the modeling of solute retention. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Description: C1
A prospective study of coping and adjustment in adolescents with craniofacial conditions
- Authors: Roberts, Rachel , Shute, Rosalyn
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Children's Health Care Vol. 41, no. 2 (2012), p. 111-128
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- Description: This study aimed to examine the role of coping strategy use in concurrent and later adjustment in adolescents with craniofacial anomalies (CFAs). It was expected that better adjustment at both baseline and 12 months would be related to greater baseline perceived coping efficacy, greater use of active coping and social support seeking, and less use of avoidance strategies. Eighty adolescents with CFAs and their parents completed measures of adjustment, coping strategy use, and efficacy in response to CFA-related stressful situations. Fifty-five families completed these measures again 12 months later. Overall, the predicted pattern of correlations between coping and adjustment was found. However, coping and efficacy at baseline did not explain a significant proportion of the variance in adjustment measures 1 year later, after controlling for baseline adjustment. Such prospective findings are beginning to bring into question the assumed importance of coping in pediatric adjustment. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Effect of physicochemical properties on freezing suitability of Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) root
- Authors: Tu, Jing , Zhang, Min , Xu, Baoguo , Liu, Amy
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Refrigeration Vol. 50, no. (2015), p. 1-9
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- Description: The initial physicochemical properties of different lotus roots were studied with the aim to evaluate their influence on freezing suitability. Six physicochemical properties indicators (starch content, whiteness index, maximum diameter, protein amount, titratable acidity and vitamin C) of lotus root were determined by principal component analysis. It was observed from the experimental results that the initial physicochemical properties of lotus root can directly affect the freezing suitability in terms of initial freezing temperature, transition phase time, total freezing time, relative firmness and drip loss. Correlation analysis suggested that relative firmness increases in proportion to starch content, and initial freezing temperature and drip loss are inversely proportional to the starch content. Compared to immersion freezing, power ultrasound can significantly improve the freezing rate and relative firmness but decrease drip loss. These results suggested that high quality frozen lotus root can be achieved via appropriately selecting high starch content lotus root and using ultrasound-assisted immersion freezing.
On the correlation between research complexity and academic competitiveness
- Authors: Ren, Jing , Lee, Ivan , Wang, Lei , Chen, Xiangtai , Xia, Feng
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 22nd International Conference on Asia-Pacific Digital Libraries, ICADL 2020, Kyoto, Japan, 30 November to 1 December 2020, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics) Vol. 12504 LNCS, p. 416-422
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- Description: Academic capacity is a common way to reflect the educational level of a country or district. The aim of this study is to explore the difference between the scientific research level of institutions and countries. By proposing an indicator named Citation-weighted Research Complexity Index (CRCI), we profile the academic capacity of universities and countries with respect to research complexity. The relationships between CRCI of universities and other relevant academic evaluation indicators are examined. To explore the correlation between academic capacity and economic level, the relationship between research complexity and GDP per capita is analysed. With experiments on the Microsoft Academic Graph data set, we investigate publications across 183 countries and universities from the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 19 research fields. Experimental results reveal that universities with higher research complexity have higher fitness. In addition, for developed countries, the development of economics has a positive correlation with scientific research. Furthermore, we visualize the current level of scientific research across all disciplines from a global perspective. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The relationship between team dynamics with healthcare coordination and clinical work satisfaction among Commune Health Workers: A Bayesian model averaging study
- Authors: Ngo, Tuan , Nguyen, Huy , Pham, Thanh , Nguyen, Tien , Vu, Kien , Pham, Minh , Phung, Dung , Thi Tran, Anh , Nguyen, Phuong , Le, Phuong , Thi Dao, An , Ngo, Hiep , Hoang, Minh
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Health Planning and Management Vol. 37, no. 5 (2022), p. 2684-2696
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- Description: Objective To determine the relationship between team dynamics with healthcare coordination and clinical job satisfaction of the community health workers (CHWs). Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 133 health workers (including doctors, nurses, or midwives) at 21 Commune Health Cent in Quoc Oai District, Vietnam, from July 2015 to May 2017. A self‐administered questionnaire consisting of 5‐Likert items regarding team dynamics and healthcare coordination clinical work satisfaction was utilised. Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix were applied for seven factors of team dynamic, clinical work satisfaction, and patient care coordination queried by primary care providers. Bayesian model averaging (BMA) was used to identify the predictors of the level of team dynamics and healthcare coordination. Results The mean score of overall team dynamics among the study participants was 4.08. Clinical work satisfaction and patient care coordination scores among resident physicians were higher than those of attending clinicians however, the differences were not statistically significant. The results of BMA analysis indicated that team dynamics significantly associated with clinical work satisfaction, and it explains 9% of the total variance in clinical work satisfaction. Team dynamics level was also positively associated with patient care coordination. Patient care coordination was not a significant mediator between team dynamics and clinical work satisfaction. Conclusion Team dynamics is a potential contributor to improving patient care coordination and clinical job satisfaction of CHWs. As no significant correlation between patient care coordination and clinical job satisfaction was observed, to improve team performance, providing conditions that facilitate team building and teamwork should be conducted for CHWs in CHCs. Highlights Team dynamics, healthcare coordination and clinical work satistsfaction among health professionals are critical to quality of healthcare. In lower‐middle income countries like Vietnam, little has been known about these contributors at community‐based healthcare system. Identifying that team dynamics significantly associated with both patient care coordination and clinical work satisfaction among community health workers, but this association being not mediated by patient care coordination informs healthcare planning at community level. As team dynamics is a contributor to both patient care coordination and clinical job satisfaction, improving team dynamics should be considered as one of priorities for better community healthcare in low or middle resource setting.
Automated segmentation of mouse OCT volumes (ASiMOV): Validation & clinical study of a light damage model
- Authors: Antony, Bhavna , Kim, Byung-Jin , Lang, Andrew , Carass, Aaron , Prince, Jerry , Zack, Donald
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS One Vol. 12, no. 8 (2017), p. e0181059-e0181059
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- Description: The use of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is becoming commonplace for the in vivo longitudinal study of murine models of ophthalmic disease. Longitudinal studies, however, generate large quantities of data, the manual analysis of which is very challenging due to the time-consuming nature of generating delineations. Thus, it is of importance that automated algorithms be developed to facilitate accurate and timely analysis of these large datasets. Furthermore, as the models target a variety of diseases, the associated structural changes can also be extremely disparate. For instance, in the light damage (LD) model, which is frequently used to study photoreceptor degeneration, the outer retina appears dramatically different from the normal retina. To address these concerns, we have developed a flexible graph-based algorithm for the automated segmentation of mouse OCT volumes (ASiMOV). This approach incorporates a machine-learning component that can be easily trained for different disease models. To validate ASiMOV, the automated results were compared to manual delineations obtained from three raters on healthy and BALB/cJ mice post LD. It was also used to study a longitudinal LD model, where five control and five LD mice were imaged at four timepoints post LD. The total retinal thickness and the outer retina (comprising the outer nuclear layer, and inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors) were unchanged the day after the LD, but subsequently thinned significantly (p < 0.01). The retinal nerve fiber-ganglion cell complex and the inner plexiform layers, however, remained unchanged for the duration of the study.