Phase-change VO-based thermochromic smart windows.

Thermochromic coatings hold promise in reducing building energy consumption by dynamically regulating the heat gain of windows, which are often regarded as less energy-efficient components, across different seasons. Vanadium dioxide (VO) stands out as a versatile thermochromic material for smart windows owing to its reversible metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) alongside correlated structural and optical properties. In this review, we delve into recent advancements in the phase-change VO-based thermochromic coatings for smart windows, spanning from the macroscopic crystal level to the microscopic structural level (including elemental doping and micro/nano-engineering), as well as advances in controllable fabrication.

Deep learning fusion framework for automated coronary artery disease detection using raw heart sound signals.

One of the most common cardiovascular diseases is coronary artery disease (CAD). Thus, it is crucial for early CAD diagnosis to control disease progression. Computer-aided CAD detection often converts heart sounds into graphics for analysis.

Effect of infarct location and volume on cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients with acute insular cerebral infarction.

Background: The aging of the population has become increasingly obvious in recent years, and the incidence of cerebral infarction has shown an increasing trend annually, with high death and disability rates.

Aim: To analyze the effects of infarct location and volume on cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients with acute insular cerebral infarction.

Methods: Between January 2020 and December 2023, we treated 98 cases of elderly acute insula, patients with cerebral infarction in the cerebral infarction acute phase (3-4 weeks) and for the course of 6 months in Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) for screening of cognition.

Investigation of waste alkali-activated cementing material using municipal solid waste incineration fly ash and dravite as precursors: Mechanisms, performance, and on-site application.

The proper treatment of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) is a crucial concern due to its hazardous nature and potential environmental harm. To address this issue, this study innovatively utilized dravite and black liquor to solidify MSWIFA. The semi-dry pressing method was employed, resulting in the production of waste alkali-activated cementing material (WACM).

Deep learning of heart-sound signals for efficient prediction of obstructive coronary artery disease.

Background: Due to the limitations of current methods for detecting obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), many individuals are mistakenly or unnecessarily referred for coronary angiography (CAG).

Objectives: Our goal is to create a comprehensive database of heart sounds in CAD and develop accurate deep learning algorithms to efficiently detect obstructive CAD based on heart sound signals. This will enable effective screening before undergoing CAG.

A Machine Learning Framework for Diagnosing and Predicting the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Although machine learning (ML)-based prediction of coronary artery disease (CAD) has gained increasing attention, assessment of the severity of suspected CAD in symptomatic patients remains challenging.

Methods: The training set for this study consisted of 284 retrospective participants, while the test set included 116 prospectively enrolled participants from whom we collected 53 baseline variables and coronary angiography results. The data was pre-processed with outlier processing and One-Hot coding.

Ultrathin, soft, radiative cooling interfaces for advanced thermal management in skin electronics.

Thermal management plays a notable role in electronics, especially for the emerging wearable and skin electronics, as the level of integration, multifunction, and miniaturization of such electronics is determined by thermal management. Here, we report a generic thermal management strategy by using an ultrathin, soft, radiative-cooling interface (USRI), which allows cooling down the temperature in skin electronics through both radiative and nonradiative heat transfer, achieving temperature reduction greater than 56°C. The light and intrinsically flexible nature of the USRI enables its use as a conformable sealing layer and hence can be readily integrated with skin electronics.

Recent Advances in Thermoregulatory Clothing: Materials, Mechanisms, and Perspectives.

Personal thermal management (PTM) is a promising approach for maintaining the thermal comfort zone of the human body while minimizing the energy consumption of indoor buildings. Recent studies have reported the development of numerous advanced textiles that enable PTM systems to regulate body temperature and are comfortable to wear. Herein, recent advancements in thermoregulatory clothing for PTM are discussed.

An Investigation of Softening Laws and Fracture Toughness of Slag-Based Geopolymer Concrete and Mortar.

This paper aimed to determine the softening laws and fracture toughness of slag-based geopolymer (SG) concrete and mortar (SGC and SGM) as compared to those of Portland cement (PC) concrete and mortar (PCC and PCM). Using three-point bending (TPB) tests, the load vs. mid-span displacement, crack mouth opening displacement, and crack tip opening displacement curves (, -CMOD, and -CTOD curves) were all recorded.

Stabilisation/solidification of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash by phosphate-enhanced calcium aluminate cement.

Landfill disposal of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MIFA) presents significant environmental and economic burden. This study proposed a novel and high-efficiency approach for stabilisation/solidification (S/S) of MIFA by phosphate-modified calcium aluminate cement (CAC). Experimental results showed that the presence of Pb (the most leachable metal contaminant in the MIFA) retarded the early-stage reaction of CAC, resulting in an extension of setting time and a significant decline of compressive strength of CAC pastes.

Creating an Eco-Friendly Building Coating with Smart Subambient Radiative Cooling.

Subambient daytime radiative cooling (SDRC) provides a promising electricity- and cryogen-free pathway for global energy-efficiency. However, current SDRC systems require stringent surface designs, which are neither cost-effective nor eco-friendly, to selectively emit thermal radiation to outer space and simultaneously maximize solar reflectance. Here, a generic method is developed to upgrade the conventional building-coating materials with a peculiar self-adaptive SDRC effect through combining particle scattering, sunlight-excited fluorescence, and mid-infrared broadband radiation.

Experimental Study on Force Sensitivity of the Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes-Modified Epoxy Resins.

The addition of a conductive material into polymer improves its mechanical properties, electrical properties and thermal conductivity and bestows it with good self-sensing and self-adjusting properties. In this study, carbon nanotubes-modified epoxy resins (CNTs-EP) were successfully prepared with good dispersion through the combined methods of three roller rolling, ultrasonic processing and adding surfactant. Tests were conducted to evaluate the resistivity of unloaded modified epoxy resins with different mixing amounts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), to determine the conductive percolation threshold.

Influence of lead on stabilization/solidification by ordinary Portland cement and magnesium phosphate cement.

Inorganic binder-based stabilization/solidification (S/S) of Pb-contaminated soil is a commonly used remediation approach. This paper investigates the influences of soluble Pb species on the hydration process of two types of inorganic binders: ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC). The environmental leachability, compressive strength, and setting time of the cement products are assessed as the primary performance indicators.

Finite Element Modeling for Debonding of FRP-to-Concrete Interfaces Subjected to Mixed-Mode Loading.

This paper presents finite element (FE) modeling of the debonding behavior of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)-to-concrete interfaces subject to mixed-mode loading, which is realized through a peeling test of FRP composites externally bonded onto a concrete substrate. A cohesive zone model (CZM) is implemented into the FE model to represent the behavior of the FRP-to-concrete interface. Two element schemes (orthotropic plane stress element and beam element) were employed to simulate the behavior of FRP composite plate in the peeling test.

Preventive Effects of Ginseng Total Saponins on Chronic Corticosterone-Induced Impairment in Astrocyte Structural Plasticity and Hippocampal Atrophy.

To further explore the underlying antidepressant mechanism of ginseng total saponins (GTS), this study observed the effects on hippocampal astrocyte structural plasticity and hippocampal volume in the corticosterone-induced mouse depression model. Corticosterone (20 mg/kg/day) was administered subcutaneously for 5 weeks, and GTS (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg/day; namely GTSL, GTSM, and GTSH) or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day) were given intragastrically during the last 3 weeks.

Hyperbaric Oxygen and Ginkgo Biloba Extract Ameliorate Cognitive and Memory Impairment via Nuclear Factor Kappa-B Pathway in Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and Ginkgo biloba extract (e.g., EGB 761) were shown to ameliorate cognitive and memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Determination of total ginsenosides in ginseng extracts using charged aerosol detection with post-column compensation of the gradient.

Aim: Variation in structure-related components in plant products prompted the trend to establish methods, using multiple or total analog analysis, for their effective quality control. However, the general use of routine quality control is restricted by the limited availability of reference substances. Using an easily available single marker as a reference standard to determine multiple or total analogs should be a practical option.

Preparation and quality assessment of high-purity ginseng total saponins by ion exchange resin combined with macroporous adsorption resin separation.

Aim: To prepare high-purity ginseng total saponins from a water decoction of Chinese ginseng root.

Method: Total saponins were efficiently purified by dynamic anion-cation exchange following the removal of hydrophilic impurities by macroporous resin D101. For quality control, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with a charged aerosol detector (CAD) was applied to quantify marker components.

Hyperbaric oxygen and Ginkgo Biloba extract inhibit Aβ25-35-induced toxicity and oxidative stress in vivo: a potential role in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation and deposition of Aβ peptides in human brains and Aβ induced free radical-mediated damage is one of the hypotheses. In the present study, we explored the protective effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and Ginkgo Biloba extract (EGB761) on Aβ25-35-induced brain toxicity. Our results demonstrated that EGB761, HBO, and the combination HBO and EGB761, could significantly improve the cognitive function in AD rats' model, especially the combination group.

[Structure, localizations and functions of chromosomal passenger complex].

Chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) is mainly composed of a protein kinase Aurora B, inner centromere protein, Survivin, and Borealin. As in different periods of cell division, CPC can localise correctly to relavent destinations in time and interact on its different substrates in the mitotic cell. CPC modulats phosphorylation of histone H3 in chromatin aggregation and controlls cohesion or segregation of sister chromatids.

[Hippocampal cAMP response element binding protein and antidepressant treatments].

With the deepening research on pathogenesis of depression, the focus has diverted from the mechanism of regulating monoamines to the basic pathophysiology of depression and the long-term mechanism of antidepressant treatments. cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in the brain, especially in the hippocampi, as a converging agent of many intracellular signaling transduction pathways is getting increasing attention. To better understand the basic pathophysiology of depression and the long-term mechanism of antidepressant treatments, it is significant to make clear the correlation between hippocampal CREB and antidepressant treatments.

Preliminary study on high-level expression of tandem-arranged tachyplesin-encoding gene in Bacillus subtilis Wb800 and its antibacterial activity.

To produce tachyplesin, an antimicrobial peptide, by a stable and efficient gene engineering approach, cDNAs containing single tachyplesin gene sequence (tac)(1) and tandem repeat of tachyplesin gene sequence (tac2) were respectively developed by annealing two synthesized complementary single-stranded DNAs and constructed into pSBPTQ shuttle vector under the control of the SacB.p.s promoter.

[Effects of fungal elicitor on inophyllums production in suspension cultured cells of Calophyllum inophyllum L].

Aim: To investigate the effects of fungal elicitors on inophyllums production in suspension cultured cell of Calophyllum inophyllum Linn.

Methods: The pathogen of leaf spot disease of C. inophyllum L.

Constitutively and autonomously active protein kinase C associated with 14-3-3 zeta in the rodent brain.

Persistent activation of protein kinase C (PKC) is required for the expression of synaptic plasticity in the brain. There are several mechanisms proposed that can lead to the prolonged activation of PKC. These include long lasting production of lipid activators (diacylglycerol and fatty acid) through mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway, and a modification of PKC by reactive oxygen species.