Search

Teratomas are congenital malformations that rarely occur in the oral cavity. In the case reported here, fetal magnetic resonance imaging performed at 30 weeks of gestation informed the decision-making of the multidisciplinary management team, who closely followed the pregnancy until the scheduled cesarean delivery at 38 weeks of gestation. After delivery, tracheal intubation was performed to ensure airway patency, and tumor resection was scheduled immediately after ruling out contraindications to surgery based on preoperative examinations, allowing for safe excising of the tumor. Postoperative follow-up at 3 months showed no abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Silicon-based microchannels (Si-MCHS) are fabricated via photolithography. • Dynamic and static thermal performances of Si-MCHS are studied under varying power. • A graded flow rate regulation strategy for Si-MCHS is developed. The issue of high power density in chips has become one of the bottlenecks restricting the improvement of chip performance. Silicon-based microchannel heat sinks (Si-MCHS) can guide the cooling fluid close to the chip junction, significantly enhancing the cooling capability. Due to the rapid changes in chip power consumption, understanding the flow and heat transfer performance of Si-MCHS, especially their dynamic heat transfer performance, is crucial. This paper introduces the fabrication of Si-MCHS and experimentally tests its static and dynamic performance. The microchannels can handle a maximum thermal flux of 71.3 W/cm2. It was found that the temperature response process of Si-MCHS mirrors that of a first-order system's step response or zero-input response. Upon a sudden change in power consumption, the thermal response can reach 90 % of the steady-state temperature difference (Δ T) within 4 s and 50 % Δ T within 1 s. Increasing the pump speed significantly reduces the response time, while different power step changes have minimal impact on the response time. Consequently, we have formulated a graded flow rate control strategy based on the flow and heat transfer performance of Si-MCHS, which achieves effective flow rate control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil shale residue concrete is prepared by utilizing oil shale semi-coke. It has advantages such as low cost and a high solid waste utilization rate. The study of its bonding-slip characteristics with steel bars is a prerequisite for their application in engineering structures. To study the bonding-slip performance of reinforced oil shale residue concrete, 12 half-beam specimens were designed for the bonding performance test. The test parameters included the substitution rate of oil shale residue, bonding length, and cover thickness. The influences of the aforementioned factors and variables on the stress-slip curve and bonding strength were analyzed. The results showed that the anchoring bond length had the greatest impact on the average bonding strengths of the steel bar and concrete. As the bonding length increases from 5 d to 10 d , the average bonding strength decreased by approximately 18%. The cover thickness had the second-greatest influence on the bonding strength. As the cover thickness increased from 20 to 30 mm, the average bonding strength increased by more than 12%. The substitution rate of the oil shale residue had the least effect on the average bonding strength, and as the substitution rate increased, the bonding strength decrease with a minor magnitude. Through verification, the bonding-slip constitutive model obtained by fitting the experimental data was found to fit the experimental values well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to numerically investigate the effect of thermal regulation performance provided by the winter school uniforms varying in wearing methods on thermal responses. A model of human thermal regulation was used to predict the human physiological responses while sedentary in an indoor environment and exercising in an outdoor environment, and further validated against measured data in human trials. TSENS and UCB comfort models were coupled to the thermal regulation model for predicting human thermal sensation. The predictions were then compared with the subjective responses to surveys. The results showed that the thermal regulation model coupled to UCB comfort model presented the potential for providing a means for reasonably accurate prediction of the thermal sensation in both indoor and outdoor environments. Based on the presented model, it was demonstrated that the difference of mean skin temperatures caused by the different wearing methods of school uniforms ranged from 1.26 to 1.99 °C. Thus, the designs on thermal regulation performance provided by the wearing methods of school uniform were extremely important for students to improve their thermal comfort while switching between the indoor and outdoor environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a Walsh Orthogonal Coded Frequency Division Multiplexing (WFDM) method is proposed for the first time, and a dynamic spectrum (DS) detection system based on this method for non-invasive blood composition analysis is built. The WFDM method can greatly improve the channel utilization and reduce the bandwidth occupation of the DS detection system, making the system realize the collection of multi-wavelength PPG signals with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR > 75 dB) and the extraction of high-quality DS. Compared with the spectrometer, the SNR of this DS detection system is improved by about 47–62 dB. In addition, this paper used this DS detection system to collect 193 valid patient samples, and established a calibration model between DS data and hemoglobin (HGB) levels in blood. The results shows that the correlation coefficients of the model calibration set and prediction set are 0.9201 and 0.9031, which are close to the clinical requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted large-eddy simulations (LES) on the pollutant reduction effects of hedge and solid barriers in a three-dimensional idealized street canyon with an aspect ratio of 0.5. The wind direction was perpendicular and oblique (45°) to the street. The results were validated with data from wind tunnel experiments. LES accurately predicted the concentration distribution in the barrier-free case and reproduced well the barrier-induced concentration reduction. In the barrier-free case, a large recirculation vortex was observed. However, the central barriers forced the recirculated airflow in the middle of the canyon and newly formed vortices near the leeward walls. The two counter-direction vortices in the hedge and solid barrier cases transported pollutants toward the center of the canyon and enhanced the vertical pollutant removal at the top of the street canyon. The hedge barrier (solid barrier) reduced spatially-averaged concentration by about 59% (45%) near the leeward wall, 64% (20%) near the windward wall, and 45% (17%) in the whole street canyon compared to the barrier-free case. The effects of leaf area density (LAD) and barrier width were further investigated under the perpendicular wind direction. Increasing the LAD or the width of the hedge barrier decreased concentration near the leeward walls but increased canyon-averaged concentration. Increasing the width of the solid barrier decreased the concentration near the leeward walls and the canyon-averaged concentration. In an oblique wind direction, the hedge and solid barriers reduced by about 30% and 60% the spatially-averaged concentration near the building walls compared to the barrier-free case. • The road-center barriers reshaped the vortices in an idealized street canyon. • The barriers reduced concentrations in the perpendicular and oblique wind directions. • The barriers enhanced the vertical pollutant removal at the top of the street canyon. • Larger barriers' width and the hedge's leaf area density decreased near-wall concentration. • The relative effectiveness of hedge and solid barriers varied with wind directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trees grown in streets impact air quality by influencing ventilation (aerodynamic effects), pollutant deposition (dry deposition on vegetation surfaces), and atmospheric chemistry (emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds, BVOCs). To qualitatively evaluate the impact of trees on pollutant concentrations and assist decision-making for the greening of cities, 2-D simulations on a street in greater Paris were performed using a computational fluid dynamics tool coupled to a gaseous chemistry module. Globally, the presence of trees has a negative effect on the traffic-emitted pollutant concentrations, such as NO 2 and organic condensables, particularly on the leeward side of a street. When not under low wind conditions, the impact of BVOC emissions on the formation of most condensables within the street was low owing to the short characteristic time of dispersion compared with the atmospheric chemistry. However, autoxidation of BVOC quickly forms some extremely-low volatile organic compounds, potentially leading to the formation of ultra-fine particles. Planting trees in streets with traffic is only effective in mitigating the concentration of some oxidants such as ozone (O 3), which has low levels in cities regardless of this, and hydroxyl radical (OH), which may slightly lower the rate of oxidation reactions and the formation of secondary species in the street. • The presence of trees in streets may lead to a decrease in O 3 and OH concentrations. • Aerodynamic effect leads to a large increase of traffic-emitted pollutants. • Unless wind speed is low, most condensables are not impacted by tree VOC emissions. • Autoxidation is a key mechanism for fast chemistry in street canyons. • Extremely-low volatile organics formed in streets may impact the number of particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoplastics have become ubiquitous in the global environment and have attracted increasing attention. However, whether there is an influence between exposure to nanoplastics and diabetes is unclear. To determine the effects of exposure to Polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and evaluate the underlying mechanisms, mice were orally exposed to PS-NPs at dosages of 1, 10, 30 mg/kg/day for 8 weeks, alone or combined with a high fat diet and streptozocin (STZ) injection. Our data showed that exposure to 30 mg/kg/day PS-NPs alone induced a significant increase in blood glucose, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Combined with a high fat diet and STZ injection, PS-NPs exposure markedly aggravated oxidative stress, glucose intolerance, insulin tolerance and insulin resistance, and induced lesions in the liver and pancreas. PS-NPs exposure could decrease the phosphorylation of AKT and GSK3β, and treatment with SC79, a selective AKT activator, could increase the level of AKT and GSK3β phosphorylation, effectively alleviating the increase in ROS levels in the liver or pancreas, and slightly attenuating the increase in fasting blood glucose levels and insulin resistance induced by PS-NPs exposure. This showed that exposure to PS-NPs aggravated type 2 diabetes and the underlying mechanism partly involved in the inhibition of AKT/GSK3β phosphorylation. [Display omitted] • PS-NPs exposure induces an increase in blood glucose and insulin resistance. • Exposure to PS-NPs aggravates type 2 diabetes. • PS-NPs exposure could decrease the phosphorylation of AKT and GSK3β. • Exposure to PS-NPs causes dyslipidemia and impairs liver function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall performance of the thermal protective clothing can only be evaluated using an assessment based on an instrumented manikin under defined, close to real-life conditions in a laboratory. However, the manikin tests can only give a few of pointwise information. This paper presents a three-dimensional transient CFD simulation of heat and mass transfer in the flame manikin test of thermal protective clothing. The used grid model, simulated from Donghua Flame Manikin, have real dimensions and accurate shape of a typical Chinese man. The solver and physical models are defined in FLUENT system and the CFD simulation of a naked flame manikin test is accomplished. By means of CFD simulation, temperature and velocity fields on the manikin surface and of the whole chamber during the process of 4-second flash fire combustion are obtained, which give well predictions to the heat flux distribution in an average sense. The cumulative curve of heat fluxes in the CFD simulation is close to the curve measured by 135 sensors in the real manikin experiment. The study could be a foundation for further study on modeling heat and mass transfer in the clothed manikin experiment and predicting skin damage accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Researchers have pointed out that people with physical disabilities find it difficult to obtain suitable clothing. In this study a set of wheelchair user oriented functional clothing was designed. Attention was paid to the wheelchair users' daily living activities related with clothing. An evaluating system combined with sports tournament and rehabilitation medicine was introduced to assess the new designed clothing. Six wheelchair users (3 males and 3 females) were invited to wear the clothing. A set of normal functional clothing was employed as a comparison (Control). The time required to complete three different daily living activities, i.e. dressing and undressing, going to toilet and bathing were recorded. Results showed that with the new clothing wheelchair users' competence of managing toilet was increased by 52.9%. The time needed for toilet was reduced by 45.7%. Their capability of managing dressing and undressing was improved by 24.6%. The study indicated that the newly designed clothing could facilitate wheelchair users' daily living activities related with clothing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Humanity lacks a clear concept of how to choose clothing that can provide the appropriate insulation in cold weather, which obviously affects their thermal comfort and energy wastage due to overheating or overcooling by running air conditioning indoors. Although comprehensive research in the field of cold weather clothing is incontestable, there is still a lack of thorough and critical reviews of the current state of research in this field, especially considering how to quantitatively characterize the cold protective capability of clothing is easier to understand. This study has systematically reviewed 30 studies from over 67 academic publications on clothing's cold protection capability and examined the focus objects of study, the characterization indexes, and test methods, as well as the limitations and influencing factors. The review has identified a lack of cold protection research on clothing for infants, children, and the older adults. Manufacturers of cold weather clothing marked temperature ratings on clothing to indicate the amount of warmth still has limitations. In particular, it is essential for future studies to explore more human activity levels and different environmental conditions that are not considered in the existing literature. Furthermore, heat storage should be considered within a reasonable range and not just 0 kJ/(m2·h) for the development of a temperature rating prediction model. The study serves as a reference to manufacturers to improve the design of cold weather clothing and human who requires wearing appropriate clothing to help them achieve thermal comfort in cold weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike most cell types, many cancer cells survive at low extracellular pH (pHe), a chemical signature of tumors. Genes that facilitate survival under acid stress are therefore potential targets for cancer therapies. We performed a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 cell viability screen at physiological and acidic conditions to systematically identify gene knockouts associated with pH-related fitness defects in colorectal cancer cells. Knockouts of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation (NDUFS1) and iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis (IBA57 , NFU1) grew well at physiological pHe, but underwent profound cell death under acidic conditions. We identified several small-molecule inhibitors of mitochondrial metabolism that can kill cancer cells at low pHe only. Xenografts established from NDUFS1 −/− cells grew considerably slower than their wild-type controls, but growth could be stimulated with systemic bicarbonate therapy that lessens the tumoral acid stress. These findings raise the possibility of therapeutically targeting mitochondrial metabolism in combination with acid stress as a cancer treatment option. [Display omitted] • CRISPR screen identifies 51 genes required for survival at low versus physiological pH • Cancer cell survival at low pH requires NDUFS1 and other OXPHOS genes • OXPHOS inhibitors selectively kill cancer cells at acidic pH, but allow survival at physiological pH • NDUFS1 knockout abrogates tumor xenograft growth in a pH-dependent manner Alongside hypoxia, acidosis is a chemical signature of many solid tumors. By performing a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screen, Michl et al. find that cancer cells require NDUFS1 and other OXPHOS genes for survival in acidic environments. OXPHOS inhibitors selectively kill cancer cells at acidic pH, but permit survival at physiological pH, which defines a strategy for targeting acidic tumor regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Comparing the different effects of MPs exposure on male and female mice. • Female mice are more susceptible to MPs in reproduction and fertility than male. • There were more PS-MPs accumulation in the ovaries than in the testes • Exposure to MPs resulted in opposite hormonal changes in male and female mice. • Exposure to MPs damaged the testes and ovaries, altered the serum hormone levels. Microplastics (MPs) may have an impact on the reproductive development of humans and mammals. However, any effects of MPs exposure on male and female reproductive systems and fertility are still ambiguous. In this study, male and female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to saline or 0.1 mg/d polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) for 30 days or 44 days to determine the effects of MPs on reproductive systems, following which some of the mice were caged for 10 days to mate to test fertility. Another group of mice were given fluorescent PS-MPs to determine the accumulation of MPs. The results show that PS-MPs exposure resulted in more significant accumulation and oxidative stress in the ovary than in the testis. In male mice, the number of viable epididymis sperm and spermatogenic cells in the testes after PS-MPs exposure was significantly reduced, and the rate of sperm deformity increased. In female mice, PS-MPs exposure induced a decrease in ovary size and number of follicles. After exposure to PS-MPs, the levels of Follicle stimulating hormone, Luteinizing hormone and testosterone were reduced, and the estradiol levels increased in the serum of male mice, while the changes in these hormone levels of female mice was the opposite. The mice exposed to PS-MPs had a reduced pregnancy rate and produced fewer embryos. These findings suggest that exposure to PS-MPs damaged the testes and ovaries, induced oxidative stress, altered the serum hormone levels, and induced changes in reproduction and fertility. Female mice appear to be more susceptible to MPs in reproduction and fertility than male mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firefighters' suit is personal protective equipment that can effectively prevent skin burns, and ensure firefighters' safety. Considering the fire environment's non-uniform feature, this study takes both axial and radial heat transfer into account. A device is developed to simulate the closed and open air gap under clothing. Different types and thicknesses of airgaps are measured to compare their thermal protective performance (TPP) on the human body. A 3D heat transfer model is established to reveal the airflow and heat transfer characteristics in the air gap. The results show that the maximum temperature difference on fabric is 166.2 °C under no air gap condition. Multi-layer fabric has a relatively uniform temperature distribution, and its peak temperature of the out shell increased by 140–170 °C compared with single-layer fabric. To quantify the contribution of the air gap to the TPP of the fabric system, the increased rates of second-degree burn time (t 2nd) with air gaps compared to no air gap condition are calculated. The conditions with air gaps increase t 2nd by 68.7%–137.5%, and the increase rates are greater for open air gaps. According to the airflow pattern, larger convective units merge when the air gap thickness increases to 18 mm, driving heat transfers to the copper sensor. The total heat fluxes of the closed AGs are significantly higher than that of the open conditions (12.1% for 6 mm and 13.9% for 18 mm). Radiation is the main heat transfer mode in the air gap, and its proportion is higher in closed AGs. The findings of this study indicate that designing an appropriate air gap and reducing the radiation heat transfer can significantly increase the safe operating time and improve the occupational safety of firefighters. • 2D non-uniform temperature distributions of the fabric exposed to fires were calculated • 3D heat transfer models were established to reveal the airflow in the air gap • A reasonable air gap under clothing can double firefighters' safe working time • Controlling radiant heat transfer to firefighters can effectively decrease skin burns [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A fast digital lock-in algorithm combining undersampling and oversampling is proposed. • A current source combined with the load characteristic is designed. • A low-cost respiratory monitoring system based on the magnetic eddy current sensing principle is designed. To design a low-cost non-contact respiratory monitoring system based on the magnetic eddy current sensing principle, a fast digital lock-in algorithm combining undersampling and oversampling is proposed in this paper. This algorithm enables direct digital sampling and fast demodulation of high-frequency respiratory modulated signals, decreasing the performance requirements of the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and the microcontroller (MCU). In addition, a current source combined with the load characteristic is designed to reduce the cost of waveform generation. The experimental results show that the low-cost amplitude modulation (AM) system constructed based on the above studies can detect respiratory signals in different states with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) higher than 92 dB. Compared with the results of the medical monitor, the relative error range of the respiratory rate (RR) measured by the AM system is 1.15%–3.12%, and the measurement accuracy is higher than 98.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing attention has been paid to the potential impact of microplastics (MPs) pollution on human health. MPs and phthalates coexist in the environment, however, the effects of exposure to MPs alone or to a combination of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and MPs on allergic asthma are unclear. This study investigates the effects of exposure to polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) or co-exposure with DEHP, on allergic asthma, and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We established an allergic asthma model using ovalbumin, and mice were exposed to PS-MPs (5 mg/kg bw/day) alone, or combined with DEHP (0.5, 5 mg/kg bw/day), for 28 days. The results showed that in the presence of ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization, exposure to PS-MPs alone slightly affected airway inflammation, and airway hyperresponsiveness, while co-exposure to PS-MPs and DEHP caused more significant damage. Co-exposure also induced more oxidative stress and Th2 immune responses, and activation of the TRPA1 and p38 MAPK pathways. The aggravation of asthmatic symptoms induced by co-exposure to PS-MPs and DEHP were inhibited by blocking TRPA1 ion channel or p38 MAPK pathway. The results demonstrated that co-exposure to PS-MPs and DEHP exacerbates allergic asthma, by exacerbating oxidative stress and inflammatory responses, and activating the TRPA1-p38 MAPK pathway. [Display omitted] • Exposure to PS-MPs slightly affects allergic asthma. • Co-exposure to PS-MPs and DEHP causes exacerbation of allergic asthma. • PS-MPs and DEHP exposure promote the activation of TRPA1 and the release of CGRP. • PS-MPs and DEHP exposure activate the p38 MAPK pathway. • Blocking the TRPA1 channel or the p38 MAPK pathway relieves asthma-like symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Each piece of Western clothing has a unique temperature rating (TR); however, based on different wearing ways, one Tibetan robe ensemble can be used in various environments of the Tibetan plateau. To explain this environmental adaptation, thermal insulations and TR values of Tibetan robe ensembles in three typical wearing ways were measured by manikin testing and wearing trials, respectively. The TR prediction models for Tibetan robe ensembles were built in this research. The results showed that the thermal insulations of Tibetan robe ensembles changed from 0.26 clo to 0.91 clo; the corresponding TRs ranged from 9.90 °C to 16.86 °C because of different wearing ways. Not only the thermal insulation, but also the ways of wearing Tibetan robes was important to determining their TR values. The three TR models and a triangle area for each piece of Tibetan clothing explained its positive adaptation into the environment; this was different from the current TR models for Western clothing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Modeling of heat transfer in firefighter clothing considering heterogeneous air gap. • Systematic investigation of various air gap configuration that mimic realistic one. • Considering heterogeneous air gap enable a more realistic assessment of performance. For accurate prediction of thermal protective performance of firefighter clothing, a realistic assumption about the heterogeneous distribution of air gaps underneath the clothing is necessary. In this study, a numerical model of heat transfer through realistic heterogeneous air gaps under flash fire exposure was developed. First, the models of heat transfer and fluid motion were validated with data from scientific literature. The verified model was further developed and then used in a subsequent parametric study to quantify effects of heterogeneous air gap distributions. The results revealed that the difference in terms of heat transfer and skin burn injuries between heterogeneous air gaps with contact folds and equivalent homogeneous air gaps was greater than that between heterogeneous air gaps with non-contact folds and equivalent homogeneous air gaps. Fold aspect ratios showed a more prominent impact on heat transfer and skin burn times in the case of contact folds compared to non-contact folds. Exposure times to skin burn were continuously prolonged with increasing air gap thickness from 6.4 to 19.1 mm for homogeneous air gaps and heterogeneous air gaps with non-contact folds, while for heterogeneous air gaps with contact folds, there was an optimum air gap thickness around 12.7–15.9 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensors simulate the response of human skin in the thermal environment and therefore play a crucial role in the prediction of the skin burn injury for the evaluation of the thermal protective clothing. In this study, a skin simulant is developed by Macor® material to mimic the surface thermal properties of human skin. The developed skin simulant is then used in the test method for radiant protective performance evaluation. A copper sensor is also used as a comparison in the tests. The results showed that the skin simulant better simulated the surface temperature rises of the human skin whereas the temperature responses of the copper sensor were in a linear behavior. The copper sensor fails to simulate the heat resistance process of the human skin, especially for the cooling phase. For the heat exposure phase, the heat flux at the skin surface is higher than that at the copper sensor surface. For the cooling phase, the skin simulant quickly recovered to a thermal equilibrium state, whereas, the copper sensor continues to release heat until the end of the test. Since the copper sensor underestimated the endothermic process and overestimated the exothermic process, it underestimated the potential skin burn risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wound dressing plays an irreplaceable role in preventing infection and accelerating healing of wounds, especially the chronic non-healing wounds. Recently, the electrospun silk fibroin (SF) fibrous matrices is regarded as an ideal candidate for wound healing in virtue of its excellent skin affinity and good permeability for air and water. Manuka honey (MH) has demonstrated its unique properties in wound healing, including anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial function as well as promoting tissue growth and reducing pain of patients. Here we report the feasibility of developing MH/SF composite fibrous matrices as antimicrobial wound dressing. SF fibrous matrices loading different amount of MH were manufactured by green electrospinning. The FTIR spectra indicated that MH was successfully loaded into the SF fibers. The composite fibers show smooth morphology and their diameter increases with MH content increased. Interestingly, the incorporation of MH significantly improved the antimicrobial activity of SF fibrous matrices, without negative effect on the excellent biocompatibility of SF. Moreover, the MH/SF composite fibrous matrices showed good performance on improving wound healing according to the data of animal experiment. Our findings suggest as-prepared natural green composite matrices combining the merits of both SF and MH could be a promising candidate for wound dressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale grid integration of renewable energy source via a voltage source inverter (VSI)-based DC system results in a continuous reduction in system kinetic inertia, deteriorating grid frequency stability. To mitigate this problem, this paper proposes a generic security-constrained inertia emulation (SIE) scheme, which integrates an appropriately-sized supercapacitor (SC) bank with a VSI-based DC system via a bidirectional DC/DC converter. Inertial response provision is enabled by an SIE control loop developed for the DC/DC converter controller to adjust the SC voltage along with the grid frequency. It is further underpinned by adding an inertia adjustment algorithm to cope with potential security risks of VSI overcurrent and DC system overvoltage. The SIE scheme features a plug-and-play advantage without modifying the original system. The SIE controller parameter optimization is also carried out through the small-signal stability analysis. The effectiveness of the SIE scheme is evaluated using a modified IEEE 39-bus test system in the presence of generator outage and grid fault. • RES inertia emulation is enabled by varying a supercapacitor voltage with frequency. • Supercapacitance for inertia emulation is reduced by a bidirectional DC/DC converter. • VSI overcurrent during inertia emulation is avoided by adaptively adjusting inertia. • The scheme features plug-and-play advantage without modifying original RES system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change material (PCM) can adjust the heat transfer performance of clothing through thermal storage, thus providing extra thermal protection to wearer. In order to meet the flame-retardant (FR) requirement of firefighting protective clothing, the PCM coated fabric with the FR property was prepared by a dry coating process. The effects of FR type, FR content and phase change temperature (PCT) on the FR property were analyzed by a cone calorimeter. The PCM coated fabrics were added to different positions of the firefighting protective clothing, and the influence of PCM coated fabric on thermal protective performance (TPP) was investigated experimentally. The results demonstrated that the FR of organic silicon significantly decreased the heat release rate due to the FR effect in condensed and gas phases. The maximum decreasing of heat release rate was 144.37 kW/m2, which was far lower than that of the PCM coated fabric without the FR. The phosphorus-nitrogen FR expanded the ignition time by 16 s at most owing to the FR effect in condensed phase. The TPP of clothing incorporated with the PCM coated fabric was determined by the type, the PCT and the position of PCM coated fabric. Based on experimental investigation of thermal response of the PCM coated fabric, the study provides some reference for the selection of PCM coated fabric and configuration design of firefighting protective clothing in different fire environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics pollution has become a growing environmental concern, but its potential neurotoxic effects remain unknown. In this study, we determined the effects of exposure to polystyrene microplastics (micro-PS) on learning and memory, and explored the underlying mechanisms. Kunming mice were orally exposed to 0.01, 0.1, 1 mg/d micro-PS or saline for four weeks. Employing the Morris water maze test, we observed that exposure to micro-PS affected the learning and exploration abilities of mice, and impaired their learning and memory functions. After exposure to micro-PS, the nerve cells in the hippocampus became loose and disordered, and the number of Nissl bodies decreased. Increases in the levels of ROS and MDA, and a decrease in levels of glutathione were found in the brain tissue of the mice exposed to micro-PS. Exposure to micro-PS also induced a reduction in the level of acetylcholine, and inhibited the CREB/BDNF pathway. Importantly, after treatment with the antioxidant, Vitamin E, the learning and memory abilities of the mice were restored, and the release of neurotransmitters rebounded. These results show that micro-PS exposure can affect the learning and memory functions through inducing oxidative stress and decreasing the levels of acetylcholine. [Display omitted] • Exposure to micro-PS impaired the learning and memory functions. • Micro-PS exposure can induce a reduction in the level of acetylcholine. • Blocking oxidative stress can restore the learning and memory abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) usually onsets in childhood or adolescence and is associated with brain development and chronic family stress during this period. As an information hub, the thalamus plays a crucial role in the development of emotion processing and stress regulation. Its structural and functional lateralization have been related to mental disorders. This study examined the age-dependent asymmetry of the thalamic volume in children and adolescents with SAD. We further examined the role of the thalamic asymmetry in moderating the relationships between parental alienation, which is a main source of familial stress for children and adolescents, and anxiety symptoms in this population. Fifty-three medication-free children and adolescents with SAD and 53 typical developing controls (age: 8–17) were included. Anxiety severity was measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). We estimated the bilateral thalamic volume and examined diagnosis effect and age-group difference on the thalamic asymmetry. We further examined the moderation of the thalamic asymmetry on the associations between scores on the parental alienation, social phobia, and total SCARED. Compared with controls, the SAD group exhibited significantly abnormal asymmetry in thalamic volume. This asymmetry became more evident in the older age group. Furthermore, this asymmetry significantly weakened the relationships between parental attachment and total SCARED score. The asymmetry of the thalamic volume and its age-group difference provide novel evidence to support brain developmental abnormalities in children and adolescents with SAD. The findings further revealed interactions between physiological and chronic stress in children and adolescents with SAD. This article is part of the special issue on 'Stress, Addiction and Plasticity'. • Age-related abnormal thalamic asymmetry in children and adolescents with SAD. • Abnormal asymmetry of thalamic volume moderates stress from parents and anxiety. • Pubertal brain developmental feature helps to understand the pathology of SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]