Experimental Study on Water-Plugging Performance of Grouted Concrete Crack.

In this paper, ordinary Portland cement, ultrafine cement, polyurethane, and epoxy resin were selected as typical grouting materials. Grouting simulation tests were first conducted to prepare the grouted concrete crack sample. The effect of concrete crack parameters (i.e., crack aperture and roughness), grout water-cement ratio, and grouting pressure on the water-plugging performance of different grouting materials was explored through the impermeability test. The microstructure of grouted concrete cracks was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and computed tomography (CT), and the difference in water-plugging performance of different grouting materials was explained at the micro level. The results show that the impermeability of the four grouting materials was ranked as follows: Epoxy resin > polyurethane > ultra-fine cement > ordinary Portland cement. The concrete cracks grouted by epoxy resin have the highest plugging failure water pressure and the lowest permeability, which is the optimal grouting material. The effectiveness of crack grouting in water-plugging was directly proportional to the grouting pressure, provided the pressure did not exceed a certain value. When the pressure surpassed the threshold, the increase in pressure did not have a significant impact on the water plugging performance. For the two cement-based materials, the threshold pressure was 1 MPa, while for the other two chemical grouts, it was 2 MPa. The two cement-based grouts with a water-cement ratio of 0.8 showed optimal water-plugging performance. The water-plugging performance of ordinary Portland cement paste, ultra-fine cement pastes, and polyurethane grout was negatively correlated with crack aperture and positively correlated with crack roughness. However, the water-plugging performance of epoxy resin grout was not affected by crack aperture or roughness.

An 8-week community-based resilience group intervention for Chinese parents who lost their only child: A two-armed pragmatic waitlist-control trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study developed and evaluated a structured, 8-week community-based resilience group intervention for Chinese parents who have lost their only child and exhibit extended bereavement and suboptimal levels of resilience. METHOD: Eighty parents were recruited from two communities and allocated to the intervention group (n = 42) or the waitlist-control group (n = 38). The 8-week community-based resilience group intervention was developed based on Kumpfer's resilience theory and previous studies. The primary outcomes were resilience and depression, and the secondary outcomes were posttraumatic growth (PTG), subjective well-being (SWB), social avoidance (SAD), sleep quality, and serum dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels. Outcomes were assessed at four time points: before (T0), immediately after (T1), 3 months after (T2), and 12 months after (T3) the intervention. The data were analyzed following the intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS: The general linear model results indicated a significant Group × Time interaction effect on resilience, depression, PTG, SWB, and SAD, with medium and large effect sizes (Cohen's d: 0.58-1.41). Those in the intervention group experienced better resilience from T1 to T2 and better depression, PTG, SWB, and SAD from T1 to T3 compared to the waitlist-control group. No significant differences were found between groups over time for sleep quality and DHEA levels. CONCLUSIONS: This intervention effectively increased resilience by T2 and improved PTG, SWB, depression, and SAD by T3 compared with control group, which can be implemented in the local community setting and collaborated with social workers to assist bereaved parents in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Ginsenoside Rh2-Based Multifunctional Liposomes for Advanced Breast Cancer Therapy.

Background: Most solid tumors are not diagnosed and treated until the advanced stage, in which tumors have shaped mature self-protective power, leading to off-target drugs and nanomedicines. In the present studies, we established a more realistic large tumor model to test the antitumor activity of a multifunctional ginsenoside Rh2-based liposome system (Rh2-lipo) on advanced breast cancer. Methods: Both cholesterol and PEG were substituted by Rh2 to prepare the Rh2-lipo using ethanol-water system and characterized. The effects of Rh2-lipo on cell uptake, penetration of the tumor spheroid, cytotoxicity assay was investigated with 4T1 breast cancer cells and L929 fibroblast cells. The 4T1 orthotopic-bearing large tumor model was established to study the targeting effect of Rh2-lipo and inhibitory effect of paclitaxel loaded Rh2-lipo (PTX-Rh2-lipo) on advanced breast tumors. Results: Rh2-lipo exhibit many advantages that address the limitations of current liposome formulations against large tumors, such as enhanced uptake in TAFs and tumor cells, high targeting and penetration capacity, cytotoxicity against TAFs, normalization of the vessel network, and depletion of stromal collagen. In in vivo study, PTX-Rh2-lipo effectively inhibiting the growth of advanced breast tumors and outperformed most reported PTX formulations, including Lipusu® and Abraxane®. Conclusion: Rh2-lipo have improved drug delivery efficiency and antitumor efficacy in advanced breast cancer, which offers a novel promising platform for advanced tumor therapy.

Inorganic nanoparticles for photothermal treatment of cancer.

In recent years, inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted increasing attention as potential theranostic agents in the field of oncology. Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a minimally invasive technique that uses nanoparticles to produce heat from light to kill cancer cells. PTT requires two essential elements: a photothermal agent (PTA) and near-infrared (NIR) radiation. The role of PTAs is to absorb NIR, which subsequently triggers hyperthermia within cancer cells. By raising the temperature in the tumor microenvironment (TME), PTT causes damage to the cancer cells. Nanoparticles (NPs) are instrumental in PTT given that they facilitate the passive and active targeting of the PTA to the TME, making them crucial for the effectiveness of the treatment. In addition, specific targeting can be achieved through their enhanced permeation and retention effect. Thus, owing to their significant advantages, such as altering the morphology and surface characteristics of nanocarriers comprised of PTA, NPs have been exploited to facilitate tumor regression significantly. This review highlights the properties of PTAs, the mechanism of PTT, and the results obtained from the improved curative efficacy of PTT by utilizing NPs platforms.

Gold nanoparticles decorated on MOF derived Cu5Zn8 hollow porous carbon nanocubes for magnetic resonance imaging guided tumor microenvironment-mediated synergistic chemodynamic and photothermal therapy.

Combining chemodynamic therapy (CDT) with photothermal therapy (PTT) has developed as a promising approach for cancer treatment, as it enhances therapeutic efficiency through redox reactions and external laser induction. In this study, we designed metal organic framework (MOF) -derived Cu5Zn8/HPCNC through a carbonization process and decorated them with gold nanoparticles (Au@Cu5Zn8/HPCNC). The resulting nanoparticles were employed as a photothermal agent and Fenton catalyst. The Fenton reaction facilitated the conversation of Cu2+ to Cu+ through reaction with local H2O2, generating reactive hydroxyl radicals (·OH) with potent cytotoxic effects. To enhance the Fenton-like reaction and achieve combined therapy, laser irradiation of the Au@Cu5Zn8/HPCNC induced efficient photothermal therapy by generating localized heat. With a significantly increased absorption of Au@Cu5Zn8/HPCNC at 808 nm, the photothermal efficiency was determined to be 57.45 %. Additionally, Au@Cu5Zn8/HPCNC demonstrated potential as a contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cancers. Furthermore, the synergistic combination of PTT and CDT significantly inhibited tumor growth. This integrated approach of PTT and CDT holds great promise for cancer therapy, offering enhanced CDT and modulation of the tumor microenvironment (TME), and opening new avenues in the fight against cancer.

A latent profile analysis of resilience and their relation to differences in sleep quality in patients with lung cancer.

PURPOSE: Sleep problems are a significant issue in patients with lung cancer, and resilience is a closely related factor. However, few studies have identified subgroups of resilience and their relationship with sleep quality. This study aimed to investigate whether there are different profiles of resilience in patients with lung cancer, to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of each subgroup, and to determine the relationship between resilience and sleep quality in different subgroups. METHODS: A total of 303 patients with lung cancer from four tertiary hospitals in China completed the General Sociodemographic sheet, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Latent profile analysis was applied to explore the latent profiles of resilience. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the sociodemographic variables in each profile, and ANOVA was used to explore the relationships between resilience profiles and sleep quality. RESULTS: The following three latent profiles were identified: the "high-resilience group" (30.2%), the "moderate-resilience group" (46.0%), and the "low-resilience group" (23.8%). Gender, place of residence, and average monthly household income significantly influenced the distribution of resilience in patients with lung cancer. CONCLUSION: The resilience patterns of patients with lung cancer varied. It is suggested that health care providers screen out various types of patients with multiple levels of resilience and pay more attention to female, rural, and poor patients. Additionally, individual differences in resilience may provide an actionable means for addressing sleep problems.

Social Support and Life Satisfaction in Women With Cervical Cancer: A Serial Multiple Mediation Model.

BACKGROUND: Although the number of studies focusing on life satisfaction in women with cervical cancer is increasing, there are limited studies on the pathway between social support and life satisfaction in this population. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the pathway between social support and life satisfaction in women with cervical cancer by examining the serial mediating effects of self-care self-efficacy, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 292 women with cervical cancer completed a questionnaire for assessing social support, self-efficacy, coping strategies, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct and/or indirect effects of the variables on life satisfaction. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that self-efficacy, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms mediates the effect of social support on life satisfaction. Direct paths from social support to life satisfaction, social support to self-efficacy, self-efficacy to coping strategies, coping strategies to depressive symptoms, and depressive symptoms to life satisfaction were significant ( P < .05). Moreover, indirect paths from social support to life satisfaction, self-efficacy to life satisfaction, and coping strategies to life satisfaction were also significant ( P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Self-care self-efficacy, coping strategies, and depressive symptoms are potential pathways through which social support may affect life satisfaction in women with cervical cancer. IMPLICATION: Healthcare providers, family, and friends should offer more social support to the patients and make efforts to strengthen their self-care self-efficacy, facilitate active coping, and alleviate depressive symptoms to improve women's life satisfaction.

Synergistic effect of photothermal and magnetic hyperthermia for in situ activation of Fenton reaction in tumor microenvironment for chemodynamic therapy.

Traditional cancer treatments are ineffective and cause severe adverse effects. Thus, the development of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has the potential for in situ catalysis of endogenous molecules into highly toxic species, which would then effectively destroy cancer cells. However, the shortage of high-performance nanomaterials hinders the broad clinical application of this approach. In present study, an effective therapeutic platform was developed using a simple hydrothermal method for the in-situ activation of the Fenton reaction within the tumor microenvironment (TME) to generate substantial quantities of •OH and ultimately destroy cancer cells, which could be further synergistically increased by photothermal therapy (PHT) and magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) aided by FeMoO4 nanorods (NRs). The produced FeMoO4 NRs were used as MHT/PHT and Fenton catalysts. The photothermal conversion efficiency of the FeMoO4 NRs was 31.75 %. In vitro and \ experiments demonstrated that the synergistic combination of MHT/PHT/CDT notably improved anticancer efficacy. This work reveals the significant efficacy of CDT aided by both photothermal and magnetic hyperthermia and offers a feasible strategy for the use of iron-based nanoparticles in the field of biomedical applications.

Effectiveness of double ABCX-based psychotherapy for psychological distress among women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer: a three-arm randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of double ABCX-based psychotherapy for psychological distress during in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) among a female group (FG), couple group (CoG) and control group (CG). METHODS: A total of 201 women undergoing their first IVF-ET cycle were randomized into three groups. The 6-session intervention was delivered at each visit to the IVF clinic. The primary outcomes were depression and anxiety, and the secondary outcomes included sleep quality, serum cortisol (nmol/L) levels and the clinical pregnancy rate, which were assessed before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The group-by-time effects were significant for depression, anxiety, sleep quality and serum cortisol levels, with larger effect sizes in the FG than in the CoG. There was no significant difference in the pregnancy rate among the three groups. CONCLUSION: Psychotherapy effectively mitigated psychological distress, suggesting greater effectiveness for couples undergoing IVF couples than for women only. It is structured and easy to use during the IVF treatment cycle. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: https://register.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03931187, retrospectively registered on April 23, 2019).

Double ABCX-based psychotherapy, which was developed in this study, effectively mitigated depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance and increased cortisol levels, suggesting greater effectiveness for couples undergoing IVF-ET than women only.Double ABCX-based psychotherapy is structured and easy to use during the IVF-ET treatment cycle, thereby presenting a promising and feasible approach to improve care for couples or women with assisted reproductive technique-related stress.

Clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of advanced SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors.

PURPOSE: SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors, characterized by distinct clinicopathological, morphological, immunohistochemical, and genetic features, differ significantly from conventional non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs). This group encompasses both SMARCA4-deficient NSCLCs (SMARCA4-NSCLCs) and SMARCA4-deficient undifferentiated tumors (SMARCA4-UTs). The efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in treating SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors remains uncertain. METHODS: Medical records of 36 patients diagnosed with stage IIIB, IIIC, or IV SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors were analyzed. We assessed the clinical, pathological, and genetic features of these patients through immunohistochemistry (IHC) and a 68-gene panel next-generation sequencing (NGS). We compared the differences between SMARCA4-NSCLCs and SMARCA4-UTs, and evaluated the impact of chemotherapy and immunotherapy on patient outcomes. RESULTS: The majority of patients with SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors were heavy-smoking males, averaging 64.6 years in age. IHC predominantly showed weak or negative staining for markers such as TTF-1, CK5/6, p40, synaptophysin, chromogranin A, and CD56, which are often associated with adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and neuroendocrine tumors. The most common genetic mutations identified via NGS included TP53, CDKN2A, KRAS, STK11, NF1, and PTEN. No significant overall survival (OS) difference was observed between SMARCA4-NSCLCs and SMARCA4-UTs (p = 0.366). The median OS for patients treated with chemotherapy (n = 9) was 447 days, while the median OS for patients undergoing PD-1-inhibitor-based therapy (n = 16) was not reached (p = 0.105). CONCLUSION: SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors exhibit distinct characteristics from conventional NSCLCs, and PD-1 inhibitors show promise in treating advanced SMARCA4-deficient thoracic tumors.

Panax notoginseng: derived exosome-like nanoparticles attenuate ischemia reperfusion injury via altering microglia polarization.

Cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CI/R) injury is a clinical conundrum during the treatment of ischemic stroke. Cell-derived exosomes (CDE) were proved to be therapeutically effective for CI/R injury. However, production of CDE is time and effort consuming. Increasing studies reported that plants can also generate exosome-like nanoparticles (ELN) which are therapeutically effective and have higher yield compared with CDE. In this study, a commonly used Chinese herb Panax notoginseng (PN), whose active ingredients were well-documented in the treatment of CI/R injury, was chosen as a source of ELNs. It was found that Panax notoginseng derived exosome like nanoparticles (PDN) could enter the brain without modification and ameliorate cerebral infarct volume, improve behavior outcome and maintained the integrity of BBB. PDNs attenuated CI/R injury by altering the phenotype of microglia from "pro-inflammation" M1 type to "anti-inflammation" M2 type. Also, we found that lipids from PDNs were the major therapeutic effective component. As a mechanism of action, PDN was proved to exert therapeutic effect via activating pI3k/Akt pathway.

Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome of low-risk non-HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis: A retrospective cohort study.

Although non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated cryptococcal meningitis (CM) is a severe disease, there are still some non-HIV CM patients with a low risk of therapeutic failure. Recognizing clinical characteristics of low-risk non-HIV-associated CM may enable clinicians to treat non-HIV-associated CM more reasonably. According to the definition of low-risk non-HIV-associated CM in the 2010 Infectious Diseases Society of America guideline, a total of 220 non-HIV CM patients were divided into two groups (Group 1: 35 low-risk patients and Group 2: 185 non-low-risk patients). Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcome were compared between the two groups. Compared with non-low-risk patients, low-risk patients had a lower rate of headache (82.9% vs. 95.7%, P = .012), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure (OP) at baseline (CSF OP < 250-mm H2O, 60.0% vs. 32.4%, P = .001), and baseline CSF cryptococcal count (median, 0 vs. 2376, P < .001), higher baseline CSF white blood cell (median, 130 vs. 90, P = .029) and CSF protein (median, 0.87 vs. 0.73, P = .011). Multivariate analysis showed that baseline CSF OP <250-mm H2O (OR: 2.545, 95% CI 1.168, 5.545, P = .019) was independently associated with low-risk for non-HIV-associated CM. The lengths of AMB-d-based induction therapy of low-risk patients (median, 20 days) were shorter (P < .001) than that of non-low-risk patients (median, 38 days). The successful outcome rate of low-risk patients was higher than non-low-risk patients (97.1% vs. 54.6%, P < .001). We demonstrated that non-HIV-associated CM patients with baseline CSF OP < 250-mm H2O were prone to the low-risk status.

This was a retrospective cohort study to find the features of low-risk non-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated cryptococcal meningitis (CM). We found that non-HIV-associated CM patients with baseline cerebrospinal fluid opening pressure <250-mm H2O were prone to low-risk status.

Dyadic transmission of depression in the elderly people with disabilities to caregiver burden: Multiple mediating roles of caring ability and resilience. / å¤±èƒ½è€äººæŠ‘éƒå¯¹ç §é¡¾è€ è´Ÿæ‹ çš„äºŒå ƒä¼ é€’ï¼šç §æŠ¤èƒ½åŠ›å’Œå¿ƒç†å¼¹æ€§çš„å¤šé‡ä¸­ä»‹ä½œç”¨.

OBJECTIVES: The interaction between elderly people with disabilities and their caregivers and the improvement of caregiver burden is important for elderly people with disabilities and their caregivers. This study aims to explore the multiple mediating roles of caregiver's caring ability and resilience in depression in the elderly people with disabilities on caregiver burden. METHODS: A total of 246 elderly people with disabilities at home and their family caregivers from 5 regions were investigated by questionnaires, including the General Information Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Family Caregiver Task Inventory, the Resilience Scale, and the Caregiver Burden Interview. A multiple mediation model was constructed and tested. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that the caregiver burden of disabled elderly men is higher than that of women; the lower the level of self-care of disabled elderly individuals, the greater the burden on their caregivers (both P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that depression of the disabled elderly people was positively correlated with the caregiver burden (P<0.01). Caregiver's caring ability was positively correlated with caregiver's resilience (P<0.01), and both were negatively correlated with caregiver burden (both P<0.01). The multiple mediating effects of caregiver caring capacity and resilience between depression of the disabled elderly people and caregiver burden were significant, with the mediating effects of caregiver caring capacity and resilience accounting for 68.9% and 26.2% of the total effect, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Depression in the elderly people with disabilities can indirectly affect caregiver burden through the caregiver's caring ability and resilience. Families of older people with disabilities need to focus on both the elderly and their caregivers. It is possible to reduce the caregiver burden and improve the physical and mental health of the dyads by empowering the caregiver's caring ability and resilience.

Ginsenoside Rg3 endows liposomes with prolonged blood circulation and reduced accelerated blood clearance.

PEGylated cholesterol-containing liposomes (Chol-PEG-lipo) have been widely used as a drug carrier for their good stealth property in blood circulation where cholesterol maintains the stability of the liposomal lipid bilayer and PEGylation endows liposomes with long circulation capability. However, cholesterol-related disadvantages and the accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon caused by PEGylation greatly limit the application of conventional stealth liposomes in clinic. Herein, ginsenoside Rg3 was selected to substitute cholesterol and PEG for liposomes preparation (Rg3-lipo). Rg3 was proved with similar liposomal membrane regulation ability to cholesterol and comparable long circulation effect to PEG. In addition, repeated administrations of Chol-PEG-lipo and Rg3-lipo were performed. The circulation time of the second dose of Chol-PEG-lipo was substantially reduced accompanied by a greatly increased accumulation in the liver due to the induction of anti-PEG IgM and the subsequent activated complement system. In contrast, no significantly increased level of relative plasma cells, IgM secretion and the complement activation in blood circulation was observed after the second injection of Rg3-lipo. As a result, Rg3-lipo showed great stealth property without ABC phenomenon. Therefore, developing liposomes utilizing Rg3 instead of PEG and cholesterol presents a promising strategy to prolong the blood circulation time of liposomes without triggering the ABC phenomenon and activated immune responses.

Mental health literacy of Chinese nurses from public general and psychiatric hospitals: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Mental health literacy (MHL) is crucial to address issues related to mental illness. Nurses' MHL is even more important because they are expected to deal with both the physical and psychological consequences of mental disorders. Objective: This study investigated the level, discrepancy, and characteristics of MHL among Chinese nurses from both public general and psychiatric hospitals; identified influential factors; and explored the relationship between MHL and mental health status. Methods: Using a stratified cluster sampling method to select participants, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe the MHL of 777 nurses from 13 general and 12 psychiatric hospitals using the Chinese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-2, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2, and a demographic questionnaire. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine the factors influencing MHL among the nurses recruited. Results: The participants' total score on the Chinese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale was 93.25 (SD = 10.52). Multiple regression analysis revealed that nurses who worked in psychiatric or higher-level hospitals, with higher professional titles or higher education had higher levels of overall MHL and core MHL, while those working in general hospitals, with shorter work duration, or who were unmarried had higher social acceptance of patients. Nurses' MHL was closely correlated with their mental health status. Conclusion: The overall and core MHL of Chinese nurses were at a moderate level, with social acceptance remaining at a relatively low level. There is an urgent need for MHL promotion programs to improve the MHL of clinical nurses. The focus must be given to overall MHL, especially core MHL, for non-psychiatric nurses to enhance their competence in mental health promotion and identification; more emphasis should be placed on the social acceptance of patients with mental illnesses for psychiatric nurses to improve their provision of professional services. Better MHL would be a formula for improving nurses' own mental health and their mental health service competence.

Development and validation of a machine learning model to predict prognosis in HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis patients: a multicenter study.

PURPOSE: To predict prognosis in HIV-negative cryptococcal meningitis (CM) patients by developing and validating a machine learning (ML) model. METHODS: This study involved 523 HIV-negative CM patients diagnosed between January 1, 1998, and August 31, 2022, by neurologists from 3 tertiary Chinese centers. Prognosis was evaluated at 10 weeks after the initiation of antifungal therapy. RESULTS: The final prediction model for HIV-negative CM patients comprised 8 variables: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cryptococcal count, CSF white blood cell (WBC), altered mental status, hearing impairment, CSF chloride levels, CSF opening pressure (OP), aspartate aminotransferase levels at admission, and decreased rate of CSF cryptococcal count within 2 weeks after admission. The areas under the curve (AUCs) in the internal, temporal, and external validation sets were 0.87 (95% CI 0.794-0.944), 0.92 (95% CI 0.795-1.000), and 0.86 (95% CI 0.744-0.975), respectively. An artificial intelligence (AI) model was trained to detect and count cryptococci, and the mean average precision (mAP) was 0.993. CONCLUSION: A ML model for predicting prognosis in HIV-negative CM patients was built and validated, and the model might provide a reference for personalized treatment of HIV-negative CM patients. The change in the CSF cryptococcal count in the early phase of HIV-negative CM treatment can reflect the prognosis of the disease. In addition, utilizing AI to detect and count CSF cryptococci in HIV-negative CM patients can eliminate the interference of human factors in detecting cryptococci in CSF samples and reduce the workload of the examiner.

Hydrothermal Effect on Ramie-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite Plates: Water Uptake and Mechanical Properties.

Ramie-fiber-reinforced polymer composites (RFRP) have the advantages of low price and low energy consumption, but they have high hydrophilicity due to their special chemical composition. In order to study the effect of water absorption on the performance degradation of RFRP in a hydrothermal environment, the authors prepared RFRP sheets by compression molding. Manufactured composites were exposed to a hydrothermal environment with a temperature of 40 °C and a humidity of 50% RH, 85% RH and 98% RH to study the water absorption and diffusion, mechanical properties (tensile properties, flexural properties and shear properties) of the RFRP, and their mechanical properties after drying. The research shows that the equilibrium moisture absorption rate of RFRP is mainly affected by the ambient humidity. The moisture absorption and diffusion of ramie-fiber-reinforced polymer composites (RFRP) in a hydrothermal environment conform to Fick's law. Before reaching the moisture absorption equilibrium (1~2 weeks), the mechanical properties decline rapidly, and then tend to be flat, and the mechanical properties of the RFRP decrease significantly with the increase in humidity; the water molecules reduce the interfacial bonding performance and the modulus degradation degree of RFRP in the hydrothermal environment is greater than that of strength. After the samples were completely dried, the mechanical properties of the RFRP rebounded greatly, but less than the initial value, and the hydrothermal environment produced irreversible changes to the substrates.

Physical Activity Interventions for Improving Cognitive Functions in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Protocol for a Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects millions of children worldwide, with a current prevalence of approximately 1 in 54 children in the United States. Although the precise mechanisms underlying ASD remain unclear, research has shown that early intervention can have a significant impact on cognitive development and outcomes in children with ASD. Physical activity interventions have emerged as a promising intervention for children with ASD, but the efficacy of different types of interventions remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study protocol aims to update the knowledge on extant literature and explore the efficacy of physical activity intervention strategies on cognitive functions in children with ASD. METHODS: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) will be conducted following the PRISMA-NMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols for Network Meta-Analyses) statement. A total of 9 bibliographic databases (APA PsycInfo, CENTRAL, Dimensions, ERIC, MEDLINE Complete, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) will be systematically searched to screen eligible articles based on a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria. A study will be considered for inclusion if it is not classified as a systematic review with or without meta-analysis, was published from inception to present, includes children aged 0 to 12 years with ASD, quantitively measures cognitive outcomes, and examines treatment comprising at least 1 physical activity intervention strategy. The internal validity and quality of evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework. Statistical analyses will be performed in the RStudio software (version 3.6; RStudio Inc) with the BUGSnet package and the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 3.3; Biostat Inc). The results of our NMA will be illustrated through network diagrams accompanied by geometry and league tables. Further, to rank the interventions based on their efficacy, we will use the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. RESULTS: Our preliminary search identified 3778 potentially relevant studies. The screening of the studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria is ongoing, and we anticipate that the final number of eligible studies will be in the range of 30 to 50. CONCLUSIONS: This study will provide a comprehensive review of the literature on physical activity interventions for children with ASD and will use NMA to compare the efficacy of different types of interventions on cognitive outcomes. Our findings will have important implications for clinical practice and future research in this area and will contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of physical activity interventions as a key component of early intervention for children with ASD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021279054; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=279054. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/40383.