A New Composite Material with Energy Storage, Electro/Photo-Thermal and Robust Super-Hydrophobic Properties for High-Efficiency Anti-Icing/De-Icing.

All weather, high-efficiency, energy-saving anti-icing/de-icing materials are of great importance for solving the problem of ice accumulation on outdoor equipment surfaces. In this study, a composite material with energy storage, active electro-/photo-thermal de-icing and passive super-hydrophobic anti-icing properties is proposed. Fluorinated epoxy resin and MWCNTs/PTFE particles are used to prepare the top multifunctional anti-icing/de-icing layer, which exhibited super-hydrophobicity with water contact angle greater than 155° and conductivity higher than 69 S m-1 . The super-hydrophobic durability of the top layer is verified through tape peeling and sandpaper abrasion tests. The surface can be heated by applying on voltage or light illumination, showing efficient electro-/photo-thermal and all-day anti-icing/de-icing performance. The oleogel material at the bottom layer is capable to absorb energy during heating process and release it during cooling process by phase transition, which greatly delayed the freezing time and saved energy. The icing test of single ice droplet, electro-/photo-thermal de-icing and defrosting tests also proved the high efficiency and energy saving of the anti-icing/de-icing strategy. This study provided a new way to manufacture multi-functional materials for practical anti-icing/de-icing applications.

Meta-analysis of clinical efficacy of thoracoscopy and robotic surgery in the treatment of mediastinal tumors.

OBJECTIVE: Comparing the clinical efficacy of thoracoscopy and robotic surgery in the treatment of mediastinal tumors using meta-analysis. METHODS: Computer retrieval of PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for literature comparing the clinical effects of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and robot-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) in treating mediastinal tumors, with the retrieval time limit from the establishment of the database to September 2023. Two evaluators independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4. RESULTS: A total of 19 articles were included, with a total of 3517 patients. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that the RATS group had less intraoperative bleeding [MD = - 5.20, 95%CI (- 9.28, - 1.12), P = 0.01], lower rate of conversion to thoracotomy [OR = 0.41, 95%CI (0.23, 0.72), P = 0.002], lower rate of total postoperative complications [OR = 0.57, 95%CI (0.34, 0.95), P = 0.03], shorter postoperative drainage time [MD = - 0.72, 95%CI (- 1.13, - 0.32), P = 0.0004], and shorter postoperative hospital stay [MD = - 0.90, 95%CI (- 1.16, - 0.65), P < 0.001], in comparison with the VATS group. There was an insignificant difference between the two groups in terms of tumor size [MD = - 0.02, 95%CI (- 0.33, 0.30), P = 0.91] and operation time [MD = 0.17, 95%CI (- 7.61, 7.94), P = 0.97]. However, in regards to hospitalization costs [MD = 2634.75, 95%CI (991.62, 4277.88), P = 0.002], the RATS group was more expensive than the VATS group. CONCLUSION: Robot-assisted mediastinal tumor resection surgery has more advantages in terms of intraoperative bleeding, conversion to thoracotomy rate, total postoperative complication rate, postoperative drainage time, and postoperative hospital stay, in comparison with thoracoscopic-assisted mediastinal tumor resection surgery. There is an insignificant difference in tumor size and operation time between the two surgeries. However, robot-assisted mediastinal tumor resection surgery increases hospitalization costs.

Fracture-Promoted Ultraslippery Ice Detachment Interface for Long-Lasting Anti-icing.

Ice accumulation on surfaces significantly jeopardizes the operational security and economic effectiveness of equipment. As one of the efficient anti-icing strategies, fracture-induced ice detachment strategy can realize low ice adhesion strength and is feasible for large-area anti-icing, but its application in harsh environment is restrained by mechanical robustness deterioration due to ultralow elastic moduli. It is still a challenge for fracture-promoted interfaces to reach ultralow ice adhesion and maintain strong mechanical robustness. Drawing inspiration from subcutaneous tissue, we propose a multiscale interpenetrating reinforcing method to develop a fracture-promoted ultraslippery ice detachment interface. Our approach minimizes elastic deformation and the stress threshold of fracture initiation during ice detachment, ensuring fast and noninjurious ice detachment on the interface. At the same time, this method reinforces the mechanical robustness of the fracture-promoted ultraslippery interface, making it possible to ensure long-term operation under harsh conditions. The superiority is revealed by ultralow ice adhesion strength below 20 kPa at -30 °C even after 200 continuous abrasion cycles, as well as efficient ice shedding during dynamic anti-icing tests, which is clarified by theoretical prediction and experimental verification. This work is expected to enlighten the design of next-generation durable anti-icing interface.

Why do family firms dismiss their family CEOs? A perspective on kinship ties.

Existing studies have suggested that nonfamily CEOs are more likely to be fired from family firms, while we focus on why family CEOs are also fired from family firms. Using data from 455 listed Chinese family firms, we find that family CEOs with affinity ties are more likely to be dismissed as they are not genetically related to the family. The difference becomes greater when firm performance is poor or family ownership is high. These findings elaborate that business-owing family is not a group with aligned interests, that is, family members with different family identities are treated differently within family. Besides, existing studies have emphasized that the preservation of socioemotional wealth in family firms can affect firms' operations, while this study further proposes that the preservation of socioemotional wealth can also have an impact on the business-owning families themselves.

Fitting the name or unworthy of the name?-Does the name of family firm major shareholder influence family's egoistic behavior?

It has been generally believed that the major shareholders of family firms are more willing to implement egoistic behaviors aimed at benefiting the family. This study analyses whether the major shareholder of the family firm whose name contains "Confucian symbols" such as benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and kindness will reduce family self-interested behaviors as his name indicates. Using a sample consisting of all 425 family firms listed on Small and Medium Enterprise Board and Growth Enterprise Board, the result shows that the major shareholder whose name contains Confucian symbols is less likely to misappropriate corporate assets and less likely to make "family-first" personnel arrangements, meanwhile is more open to external supervision. Further mechanism testing reveals that the major shareholder whose name contains Confucian symbols also tends to choose corporate culture that reflects Confucianism. The study confirms that the name of the major shareholder is one of the factors which can affect the operation of the family business, demonstrates that different family firms have different attitudes towards family self-interest, and promotes the extant research from the "differences between family and non-family firms" level further to the "differences among family firms running by different families" level.

Prevalence of atrial fibrillation and the risk of cardiovascular mortality among hypertensive elderly population in northeast China.

Little is known about the epidemiology and impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality among hypertensive elderly population in northeast China. The community-based study included 4497 hypertensive elderly residents aged ≥65 years who lived in northeast China from September 2017 to March 2019. Information on CVD deaths was obtained from baseline until July 31, 2021. Cox proportional hazard regression models were performed in the evaluation of CVD mortality. We identified 101 persons with AF. The prevalence of AF was 2.2% among elderly hypertensive population, which increased significantly with age. The prevalence of AF was higher in men than in women. The awareness rate was 51.5%, higher in urban areas than in rural areas (68.8% vs 43.5%, P = .018). Only 4.0% patients received oral anticoagulant (OAC) therapy among AF patients. Moreover, diabetes (26.7%) and dyslipidemia (37.6%) were highly prevalent in AF patients. Furthermore, 212 persons died due to CVD (14.7/1000 person-years) during a median follow-up of 3.2 years. AF patients had a 3.42 (95% CI: 2.07-5.63) times higher risk of CVD mortality than the patients without AF in the fully adjusted model. Therefore, the burden of AF among hypertensive elderly population in northeast China was considerable. Long-term screening and management strategies for AF and related risk factors are required among hypertensive elderly in northeast China.