A solar steam generator(SSG)is an effective method for solving water shortages and protecting the environment,but its evaporation rate remains limited.Herein,Ga@EOG/PVA aerogel-based SSG with excellent photothermal se...A solar steam generator(SSG)is an effective method for solving water shortages and protecting the environment,but its evaporation rate remains limited.Herein,Ga@EOG/PVA aerogel-based SSG with excellent photothermal seawater purification capabilities was prepared using liquid metal gallium(Ga),edge oxidized graphene(EOG),and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA).The‘‘nut-cake-like''structure formed by electrochemical oxidation of EOG encapsulated Ga nanoparticles enhances light absorption and heat conversion efficiency through multiple light scattering and surface plasmon resonance.Furthermore,the vertical pore structure of the aerogel mimics the xylem conduit in tree trunks,allowing rapid transmission of heat and water,thus increasing its evaporation capacity.Based on these attributes,the SSG demonstrated a light absorption rate of 98.2%and an evaporation rate of 5.13 kg.m^(-2).h^(-1)under one-sun illumination,surpassing previously reported values in the literature.Moreover,the SSG effectively treated heavy metal salts,organic dyes,wastewaters,and acidic or alkaline solutions.These findings highlight the potential effectiveness of the prepared aerogel for numerous of environmental remediation applications,especially in ensuring high water quality and safety for human consumption.展开更多
Surgical meshes have been employed in the management of a variety of pathological conditions including hernia,pelvic floor dysfunctions,periodontal guided bone regeneration,wound healing and more recently for breast p...Surgical meshes have been employed in the management of a variety of pathological conditions including hernia,pelvic floor dysfunctions,periodontal guided bone regeneration,wound healing and more recently for breast plastic surgery after mastectomy.These common pathologies affect a wide portion of the worldwide population;therefore,an effective and enhanced treatment is crucial to ameliorate patients’living conditions both from medical and aesthetic points of view.At present,non-absorbable synthetic polymers are the most widely used class of biomaterials for the manufacturing of mesh implants for hernia,pelvic floor dysfunctions and guided bone regeneration,with polypropylene and poly tetrafluoroethylene being the most common.Biological prostheses,such as surgical grafts,have been employed mainly for breast plastic surgery and wound healing applications.Despite the advantages of mesh implants to the treatment of these conditions,there are still many drawbacks,mainly related to the arising of a huge number of post-operative complications,among which infections are the most common.Developing a mesh that could appropriately integrate with the native tissue,promote its healing and constructive remodelling,is the key aim of ongoing research in the area of surgical mesh implants.To this end,the adoption of new biomaterials including absorbable and natural polymers,the use of drugs and advanced manufacturing technologies,such as 3D printing and electrospinning,are under investigation to address the previously mentioned challenges and improve the outcomes of future clinical practice.The aim of this work is to review the key advantages and disadvantages related to the use of surgical meshes,the main issues characterizing each clinical procedure and the future directions in terms of both novel manufacturing technologies and latest regulatory considerations.展开更多
According to the railway transportation system＇s characteristics, a new cellular automaton model for the single- line railway system is presented in this paper. Based on this model, several simulations were done to i...According to the railway transportation system＇s characteristics, a new cellular automaton model for the single- line railway system is presented in this paper. Based on this model, several simulations were done to imitate the train operation under three working diagrams. From a different angle the results show how the organization of train operation impacts on the railway carrying capacity. By using the non-parallel train working diagram the influence of fast-train on slow-train is found to be the strongest. Many slow-trains have to wait in-between neighbouring stations to let the fast-train（s） pass through first. So the slow-train will advance like a wave propagating from the departure station to the arrival station. This also resembles the situation of a highway jammed traffic flow. Furthermore, the nonuniformity of travel times between the sections also greatly limits the railway carrying capacity. After converting the nonuniform sections into the sections with uniform travel times while the total travel time is kept unchanged, all three carrying capacities are improved greatly as shown by simulation. It also shows that the cellular automaton model is an effective and feasible way to investigate the railway transportation system.展开更多
This study aimed to assess whether a daily supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can alter the body composition as well as bone turnover and the mechanical properties of the bones in systemic immunodef...This study aimed to assess whether a daily supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can alter the body composition as well as bone turnover and the mechanical properties of the bones in systemic immunodeficiency. For this, we use an in vivo model of severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice supplemented daily with LGG over 8 weeks period. After 8 weeks of the treatment, the animals were assessed by DEXA and then the blood was collected from the hepatic portal vein for bone turnover biomarkers;post-mortem, the caecum was removed for isolation and enumeration of the gut bacteria, while femurs/tibiae were excised for the assessment of their mechanical properties. LGG treatment affected the composition of the gut microbiota at the order level, and it decreased (P = 0.002) total adipose tissue content. Moreover, LGG treatment decreased the stiffness (N/mm) of both femurs (P = 0.008) and tibiae (P = 0.011). To conclude, this study shows that dietary supplementation with LGG in immunodeficient animals can alter mechanical properties of the long bones and concomitantly it can modify host’s total adiposity level.展开更多
Background:Electronic Health Record(EHR)systems are used as an efficient and effective technique for sharing patient’s health records among different hospitals and various other key stakeholders of the healthcare ind...Background:Electronic Health Record(EHR)systems are used as an efficient and effective technique for sharing patient’s health records among different hospitals and various other key stakeholders of the healthcare industry to achieve better diagnosis and treatment of patients globally.However,the existing EHR systems mostly lack in providing appropriate security,entrusted access control and handling privacy and secrecy issues and challenges in current hospital infrastructures.Objective:To solve this delicate problem,we propose a Blockchain-enabled Hyperledger Fabric Architecture for different EHR systems.Methodology:In our EHR blockchain system,Peer nodes from various organizations(stakeholders)create a ledger network,where channels are created to enable secure and private communication between different stakeholders on the ledger network.Individual patients and other stakeholders are identified and registered on the network by unique digital certificates issued by membership service provider(MSP)component of the fabric architecture.Results:We created and implemented different Chaincodes to handle the business logic for executing separate EHR transactions on the network.The proposed fabric architecture provides a secure,transparent and immutable mechanism to store,share and exchange EHRs in a peer-to-peer network of different healthcare stakeholders.It ensures interoperability,scalability and availability in adapting the existing EHRs for strengthening and providing an effective and secure method to integrate and manage patient records among medical institutions in the healthcare ecosystem.展开更多
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are a major threat to freshwater eco-systems globally. To deal with this threat, researches into the cyanobacteria bloom in fresh water lakes and rivers have been carried out all ov...Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are a major threat to freshwater eco-systems globally. To deal with this threat, researches into the cyanobacteria bloom in fresh water lakes and rivers have been carried out all over the world. This review presents an overlook of studies on cyanobacteria blooms. Conventional studies mainly focus on investigating the environmental factors influencing the blooms, with their limitation in lack of viewing the microbial community structures. Metagenomics study provides insight into the internal community structure of the cyanobacteria at the blooming, and there are researchers reported that sequence data was a better predictor than environmental factors. This further manifests the significance of the metagenomic study. However, large number of the latter appears to be confined only to present snapshoot of the microbial community diversity and structure. This type of investigation has been valuable and important, whilst an effort to integrate and coordinate the conventional approaches that largely focus on the environmental factors control, and the Metagenomics approaches that reveals the microbial community structure and diversity, implemented through machine learning techniques, for a holistic and more comprehensive insight into the cause and control of Cyanobacteria blooms, appear to be a trend and challenge of the study of this field.展开更多
This paper is intended to source literature, identifying the adverse impacts on human health, from the pollutants released from residential burning from both fossil fuel and biomass sources. The literature sourced was...This paper is intended to source literature, identifying the adverse impacts on human health, from the pollutants released from residential burning from both fossil fuel and biomass sources. The literature sourced was ascertained through the conduction of a systematic literature review. The author assessed peer-reviewed English language articles, which had been published within the last five years. The studies reviewed indicated a clear increase in the burning of residential solid fuels. The findings suggest that residential solid fuel combustion is occurring in developed countries, primarily as a secondary source of heating during the winter months. The study concluded that similarly to bituminous coal, the domestic burning of wood also had adverse effects on human health. The intentions of UK Climate Change Act 2008 are to achieve an 80% reduction by the year 2050 in the net carbon account from the 1990 baseline. It is recommended for countries to meet the European 2050 targets, long-term measures need to be adopted. This includes switching from residential solid fuel burning to heating methods such as oil and gas, which are necessary in improving overall air quality and public health.展开更多
Background:Aerobic capacity(AC)in adults with congenital heart disease(CHD)is often reduced,mainly due to low confidence levels towards physical activity(PA).The main objective of this study was to estimate the associ...Background:Aerobic capacity(AC)in adults with congenital heart disease(CHD)is often reduced,mainly due to low confidence levels towards physical activity(PA).The main objective of this study was to estimate the association between PA level and AC(measured as peak of oxygen consumption,VO_(2peak))in adults with CHD.Methods:A total of 183 individuals(83 women and 100 men;mean(SD)age 36.9(11.0)years old)from Vall d’Hebron Hospital,Barcelona-Spain in 2019,participated in this cross-sectional study.The AC was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing(CPET)using a treadmill ramp protocol.Considering values of metabolic equivalent of task(MET,MET-min·week-1)obtained by the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire(IPAQ),participants were divided into three categories of PA:health-enhancing PA(HEPA),minimally active,and inactive.Results:Median(SD)PA was 2737.2(2835.7)MET-min·week-1,with 60 participants(32.8%)reporting HEPA,91(49.7%)minimally active,and 32(17.5%)inactivity.Participants demonstrated a mean VO_(2peak) of 28.9(8.8)mL·Kg^(-1)·min^(-1),showing AC values on average 13%lower than expected in a healthy population.Overall,PA and AC were positively associated.Adjusting for sex and age,an increase of 1000 MET-min·week^(-1) was associated with an increase in VO_(2peak) of 0.8 units(95%CI 0.4–1.2;p<0.001).There were no differences in the degree of increase between sexes(p=0.427).Conclusion:These findings suggest that an increase in PA in patients with CHD significantly improves their AC,and hence,could be recommended when the goal is to improve their physical condition.展开更多
This paper investigates whether innovative Peer-to-Peer lending by FinTechs’has a regulatory advantage over the big banks in respect of small business lending.We do this through the lens of the regulations imposed by...This paper investigates whether innovative Peer-to-Peer lending by FinTechs’has a regulatory advantage over the big banks in respect of small business lending.We do this through the lens of the regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act,using a difference-in-difference methodology.The Act tightened traditional bank credit standards on business loans,especially for small firms.However,the new FinTech lenders were not subject to the same regulatory burden.We find that traditional banks significantly reduced their lending to small businesses,as compared to their FinTech competitors.Our results suggest that while the Dodd-Frank Act constrained lending to small businesses,innovative new lending models gained a regulatory advantage and the Peer-to-Peer lenders capitalized on this.展开更多
It is well-known that rough set theory can be applied successfully to rough classification and knowledge discovery. Our work is concerned with finding methods for using rough sets to identify classes in datasets, find...It is well-known that rough set theory can be applied successfully to rough classification and knowledge discovery. Our work is concerned with finding methods for using rough sets to identify classes in datasets, finding dependencies in relations and discovering rules which are hidden in databases by means of decision tables and algorithm D. We use these methods to analyze and control aspects of nuclear energy generation.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52403116)the Opening Project of State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering(Sichuan University)(No.sklpme2024-1-27)+2 种基金Sichuan Science and Technology Program(No.MZGC20240046)the Science Foundation of Sichuan Province(No.2023NSFSC0978)the Natural Science Starting Project of SWPU(No.2023QHZ018)。
文摘A solar steam generator(SSG)is an effective method for solving water shortages and protecting the environment,but its evaporation rate remains limited.Herein,Ga@EOG/PVA aerogel-based SSG with excellent photothermal seawater purification capabilities was prepared using liquid metal gallium(Ga),edge oxidized graphene(EOG),and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA).The‘‘nut-cake-like''structure formed by electrochemical oxidation of EOG encapsulated Ga nanoparticles enhances light absorption and heat conversion efficiency through multiple light scattering and surface plasmon resonance.Furthermore,the vertical pore structure of the aerogel mimics the xylem conduit in tree trunks,allowing rapid transmission of heat and water,thus increasing its evaporation capacity.Based on these attributes,the SSG demonstrated a light absorption rate of 98.2%and an evaporation rate of 5.13 kg.m^(-2).h^(-1)under one-sun illumination,surpassing previously reported values in the literature.Moreover,the SSG effectively treated heavy metal salts,organic dyes,wastewaters,and acidic or alkaline solutions.These findings highlight the potential effectiveness of the prepared aerogel for numerous of environmental remediation applications,especially in ensuring high water quality and safety for human consumption.
文摘Surgical meshes have been employed in the management of a variety of pathological conditions including hernia,pelvic floor dysfunctions,periodontal guided bone regeneration,wound healing and more recently for breast plastic surgery after mastectomy.These common pathologies affect a wide portion of the worldwide population;therefore,an effective and enhanced treatment is crucial to ameliorate patients’living conditions both from medical and aesthetic points of view.At present,non-absorbable synthetic polymers are the most widely used class of biomaterials for the manufacturing of mesh implants for hernia,pelvic floor dysfunctions and guided bone regeneration,with polypropylene and poly tetrafluoroethylene being the most common.Biological prostheses,such as surgical grafts,have been employed mainly for breast plastic surgery and wound healing applications.Despite the advantages of mesh implants to the treatment of these conditions,there are still many drawbacks,mainly related to the arising of a huge number of post-operative complications,among which infections are the most common.Developing a mesh that could appropriately integrate with the native tissue,promote its healing and constructive remodelling,is the key aim of ongoing research in the area of surgical mesh implants.To this end,the adoption of new biomaterials including absorbable and natural polymers,the use of drugs and advanced manufacturing technologies,such as 3D printing and electrospinning,are under investigation to address the previously mentioned challenges and improve the outcomes of future clinical practice.The aim of this work is to review the key advantages and disadvantages related to the use of surgical meshes,the main issues characterizing each clinical procedure and the future directions in terms of both novel manufacturing technologies and latest regulatory considerations.
文摘According to the railway transportation system＇s characteristics, a new cellular automaton model for the single- line railway system is presented in this paper. Based on this model, several simulations were done to imitate the train operation under three working diagrams. From a different angle the results show how the organization of train operation impacts on the railway carrying capacity. By using the non-parallel train working diagram the influence of fast-train on slow-train is found to be the strongest. Many slow-trains have to wait in-between neighbouring stations to let the fast-train（s） pass through first. So the slow-train will advance like a wave propagating from the departure station to the arrival station. This also resembles the situation of a highway jammed traffic flow. Furthermore, the nonuniformity of travel times between the sections also greatly limits the railway carrying capacity. After converting the nonuniform sections into the sections with uniform travel times while the total travel time is kept unchanged, all three carrying capacities are improved greatly as shown by simulation. It also shows that the cellular automaton model is an effective and feasible way to investigate the railway transportation system.
文摘This study aimed to assess whether a daily supplementation with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) can alter the body composition as well as bone turnover and the mechanical properties of the bones in systemic immunodeficiency. For this, we use an in vivo model of severe combined immunodeficient (scid) mice supplemented daily with LGG over 8 weeks period. After 8 weeks of the treatment, the animals were assessed by DEXA and then the blood was collected from the hepatic portal vein for bone turnover biomarkers;post-mortem, the caecum was removed for isolation and enumeration of the gut bacteria, while femurs/tibiae were excised for the assessment of their mechanical properties. LGG treatment affected the composition of the gut microbiota at the order level, and it decreased (P = 0.002) total adipose tissue content. Moreover, LGG treatment decreased the stiffness (N/mm) of both femurs (P = 0.008) and tibiae (P = 0.011). To conclude, this study shows that dietary supplementation with LGG in immunodeficient animals can alter mechanical properties of the long bones and concomitantly it can modify host’s total adiposity level.
基金funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University through the Fast-track Research Funding Program.
文摘Background:Electronic Health Record(EHR)systems are used as an efficient and effective technique for sharing patient’s health records among different hospitals and various other key stakeholders of the healthcare industry to achieve better diagnosis and treatment of patients globally.However,the existing EHR systems mostly lack in providing appropriate security,entrusted access control and handling privacy and secrecy issues and challenges in current hospital infrastructures.Objective:To solve this delicate problem,we propose a Blockchain-enabled Hyperledger Fabric Architecture for different EHR systems.Methodology:In our EHR blockchain system,Peer nodes from various organizations(stakeholders)create a ledger network,where channels are created to enable secure and private communication between different stakeholders on the ledger network.Individual patients and other stakeholders are identified and registered on the network by unique digital certificates issued by membership service provider(MSP)component of the fabric architecture.Results:We created and implemented different Chaincodes to handle the business logic for executing separate EHR transactions on the network.The proposed fabric architecture provides a secure,transparent and immutable mechanism to store,share and exchange EHRs in a peer-to-peer network of different healthcare stakeholders.It ensures interoperability,scalability and availability in adapting the existing EHRs for strengthening and providing an effective and secure method to integrate and manage patient records among medical institutions in the healthcare ecosystem.
文摘Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms are a major threat to freshwater eco-systems globally. To deal with this threat, researches into the cyanobacteria bloom in fresh water lakes and rivers have been carried out all over the world. This review presents an overlook of studies on cyanobacteria blooms. Conventional studies mainly focus on investigating the environmental factors influencing the blooms, with their limitation in lack of viewing the microbial community structures. Metagenomics study provides insight into the internal community structure of the cyanobacteria at the blooming, and there are researchers reported that sequence data was a better predictor than environmental factors. This further manifests the significance of the metagenomic study. However, large number of the latter appears to be confined only to present snapshoot of the microbial community diversity and structure. This type of investigation has been valuable and important, whilst an effort to integrate and coordinate the conventional approaches that largely focus on the environmental factors control, and the Metagenomics approaches that reveals the microbial community structure and diversity, implemented through machine learning techniques, for a holistic and more comprehensive insight into the cause and control of Cyanobacteria blooms, appear to be a trend and challenge of the study of this field.
文摘This paper is intended to source literature, identifying the adverse impacts on human health, from the pollutants released from residential burning from both fossil fuel and biomass sources. The literature sourced was ascertained through the conduction of a systematic literature review. The author assessed peer-reviewed English language articles, which had been published within the last five years. The studies reviewed indicated a clear increase in the burning of residential solid fuels. The findings suggest that residential solid fuel combustion is occurring in developed countries, primarily as a secondary source of heating during the winter months. The study concluded that similarly to bituminous coal, the domestic burning of wood also had adverse effects on human health. The intentions of UK Climate Change Act 2008 are to achieve an 80% reduction by the year 2050 in the net carbon account from the 1990 baseline. It is recommended for countries to meet the European 2050 targets, long-term measures need to be adopted. This includes switching from residential solid fuel burning to heating methods such as oil and gas, which are necessary in improving overall air quality and public health.
基金Kelly Ferri is supported by a PhD grant by SUR of DEC Generalitat de Catalunya and European Union 2019FI_BI 00168The funder had no role in the study design,data collection and analysis,decision to publish,or preparation of the manuscript.The present study complies with the current laws of the country in which it was performed。
文摘Background:Aerobic capacity(AC)in adults with congenital heart disease(CHD)is often reduced,mainly due to low confidence levels towards physical activity(PA).The main objective of this study was to estimate the association between PA level and AC(measured as peak of oxygen consumption,VO_(2peak))in adults with CHD.Methods:A total of 183 individuals(83 women and 100 men;mean(SD)age 36.9(11.0)years old)from Vall d’Hebron Hospital,Barcelona-Spain in 2019,participated in this cross-sectional study.The AC was assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing(CPET)using a treadmill ramp protocol.Considering values of metabolic equivalent of task(MET,MET-min·week-1)obtained by the short International Physical Activity Questionnaire(IPAQ),participants were divided into three categories of PA:health-enhancing PA(HEPA),minimally active,and inactive.Results:Median(SD)PA was 2737.2(2835.7)MET-min·week-1,with 60 participants(32.8%)reporting HEPA,91(49.7%)minimally active,and 32(17.5%)inactivity.Participants demonstrated a mean VO_(2peak) of 28.9(8.8)mL·Kg^(-1)·min^(-1),showing AC values on average 13%lower than expected in a healthy population.Overall,PA and AC were positively associated.Adjusting for sex and age,an increase of 1000 MET-min·week^(-1) was associated with an increase in VO_(2peak) of 0.8 units(95%CI 0.4–1.2;p<0.001).There were no differences in the degree of increase between sexes(p=0.427).Conclusion:These findings suggest that an increase in PA in patients with CHD significantly improves their AC,and hence,could be recommended when the goal is to improve their physical condition.
文摘This paper investigates whether innovative Peer-to-Peer lending by FinTechs’has a regulatory advantage over the big banks in respect of small business lending.We do this through the lens of the regulations imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act,using a difference-in-difference methodology.The Act tightened traditional bank credit standards on business loans,especially for small firms.However,the new FinTech lenders were not subject to the same regulatory burden.We find that traditional banks significantly reduced their lending to small businesses,as compared to their FinTech competitors.Our results suggest that while the Dodd-Frank Act constrained lending to small businesses,innovative new lending models gained a regulatory advantage and the Peer-to-Peer lenders capitalized on this.
文摘It is well-known that rough set theory can be applied successfully to rough classification and knowledge discovery. Our work is concerned with finding methods for using rough sets to identify classes in datasets, finding dependencies in relations and discovering rules which are hidden in databases by means of decision tables and algorithm D. We use these methods to analyze and control aspects of nuclear energy generation.
